Pat Taub
This past weekend a friend and I went to the mall to get a head start on our Christmas shopping. The busy crowds and stores crammed with cheesy, over-priced merchandise had us bolting for the nearest exit. By the time we got to our car I was in full Mrs. Scrooge mode.
Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Scrooge mode
I wish our over-commercialized Christmas could be erased along with the schmaltzy holiday music. I don’t care if I ever hear “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” again. I’m sick of Christmas displays that start appearing a day after Halloween. I’m sick of going from store to store, frequently making mediocre purchases just to end my dreaded shopping.
Since I can’t fly to Bora Bora to escape Christmas, an attitude readjustment is in order.
Vowing not to return to the mall I’ve decided to buy my gifts from local merchants. Every year I struggle to come up with gifts for my brothers. This year I’ve suggested we discontinue exchanging presents to simplify our lives.
I’m cutting back on gifts for my adult children, daughter-in-law and teenage grandchildren. I’m planning to give everyone just one big gift. My list includes books, money towards a trip, art supplies, fitness equipment, and donations in their names to humanitarian organizations, like Doctors Without Borders.
Additionally I’m dreaming up personalized gifts, like composing letters to family members describing what I value in them. Another idea is to give framed photos from their recent trips or notable events like a big birthday. I’m hoping to make gratitude letters my very own Christmas tradition.
Another inspiration is to start new family traditions that don’t include computers or smart phones. Following the Icelandic tradition of receiving books on Christmas Eve, I’ll be gifting each family member a book on Christmas Eve. In Iceland Christmas Eve is devoted to reading the gifted books, which it’s unlikely my family will agree to, but I’ll be content if I can convince then to read for a brief spell. The image of a quiet house whose silence is only broken by turning pages fills me with warm thoughts.
This year I’ll follow the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve
One treasured tradition in my family occurs on Christmas morning when my oldest son reads aloud, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” This year I’ll dig out my worn copy of David Sedaris’ Holidays on Ice for added reading entertainment. I’m hoping that the teens will get a kick out of reading Sedaris’ hijinks to us.
Another way to inject meaning into Christmas is to link the Christmas story of Mary and Joseph to that of the migrants escaping unsafe living conditions for life in the United States, finding compassion in our hearts for the migrants Trump is so cruelly targeting.
I want to talk with my grandkids about the parallel between the Christmas story and Trump’s anti-migrant stand.
For me a meaningful Christmas boils down to eliminating mall shopping in favor of one-of-a-kind items from local merchants and original gifts that encourage deeper connections. If I can pull this off, my crabby Mrs. Scrooge persona will be a thing of the past!
