The weather is odd this year. No snow, unseasonably warm and to be honest my brother in LA has colder temps some evening than we do!!
Lots in store this month. We always do the first day of Hanukkah, we do lots of baking, story reading, donate to charities, do Angel Tree, Kaya's class projects and so on.
When we had Kaya we decided right off that holidays would not be about a huge gift list but more focused on giving, charity and family. Does she always have lots of items she loves? Yep. Does she ask Santa for that one gift she "has to have"? Yep. She's a normal child with wants and wishes but....we balance that out with donations to the local food pantry,shelter etc.
I'm also very thankful that her teacher is charity minded and this year they donated sewn blankets to the local women's shelter as well as gently used toys and clothes! The clothes and toys ideas were actually the kid's ideas and that made me very happy. They also donated to the local animal shelter.
So many face the hustle and bustle of the season with a long to do list, a long gift list and mounting stress. They lose the feeling, the specialness of the season. You cannot divide yourself into a thousand different gatherings, a thousand different projects and still come out feeling complete. If that is your style and how you want to live life, feel free to but.....we don't.
We bake cookies for the mail lady, we surprise the neighbors with treat tins,we give our dentist office (who treats us like family) a gift box of homemade goodies. We brainstorm and come up with a meaning teacher gift. We donate to a family in need. We read Christmas stories and we often sit in the glow of the tree lights and ...just....be.
May the holiday season find you full of love, happiness and cheer. May you gain wisdom and gifts that do not have a price tag. May your heart expand and may your hand be uplifting to someone in need. Make memories together and soak in the season!
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