My Christmas Mojo

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. There is something magical about going out at night and seeing lights and decorations covering every surface and brightening the landscape. Normal routines are shaken up as we pull out fancy clothes, eat rich foods, listen to dogs singing "Jingle Bells" and decorate our houses with dead trees and socks. The sense of Christmas Day anticipation is, in my opinion, more intoxicating than a mixed drink! But, now that I am older and have more of a hand in the Christmas preparations, sometimes it can be hard to keep my Christmas mojo.

One way I keep my sanity is to order gifts online. I normally am not a mall person but during the Christmas season I avoid the mall like the plague. I love buying my gifts while sitting on my couch in my pajamas. No one is jostling me, I don't have to hunt for what I want and most of the time I have two or three clicks of the mouse and I am done. I love Amazon almost as much as I love my family because you can find everything on that site, often a lot cheaper than at the store! I rarely pay shipping as many Internet retailers are getting wise to the fact that more and more people are doing their shopping online. Plus, I get a tiny little thrill each time I see the UPS truck pull up to my house. Hey, I am easily entertained.

I make sure I set a lot of time aside to do the things I like during the holidays. I know that can be hard if you have older kids who have a ton of school activities or if you have a lot of holiday parties to attend. Trust me, you will be amazed how calming the thought of doing what you want to do later can be. I love to bake, so I take an entire weekend to shop for my ingredients, prepare my treats and package them. I put on some good music, grab a mug of tea and go to work. The best part of my baking is I am not tempted to eat my goodies because frankly, after rolling my 100th peanut butter ball in chocolate I am not interested in ever seeing them again, much less eating one. You may hate baking but love Christmas movies, so watch one a night until Christmas. Do whatever you need to do to remain centered.

My family is my main priority during the Holiday season. I would rather politely and happily turn down a party invitation then go and run the risk of being a party pooper. I realized a long time ago that people will understand if you can't make every event during the holidays. I promise you won't hurt anyone's feelings if you take some time out to be with family! Tonight my family is going to follow fellow Atlanta Parent blogger Walt's advice and have a Stone Mountain Christmas. Sure it would be fun to dress up in our fancy party clothes and have a couple of drinks, but my husband and I will treasure the memory of our two boys riding the Christmas train a lot more.

I know the material nature of the holiday season can be overwhelming. When I feel like all I am doing is shelling out cash and buying, buying, buying I remember that this season isn't only about material goods. We are a Catholic family so we make sure to light the candles in the Advent wreath and remember the religious aspect of Christmas. You may feel that the Holiday spirit is one of love for your fellow man or doing works of charity. Whatever the holiday season means to you, be it religious or secular, do whatever it takes to make the season more meaningful.

If I am still feeling like a Grinch about the holiday season, I just think back to what it was like to be a kid at this time of the year. I remember many a Christmas Eve where I couldn't go to sleep because I might miss the sound of Santa's sleigh bells. My son Nicholas is now at the age where Christmas is the biggest thing in his life. Everything about the season is exciting to him and his glee rubs off on my husband and me. While I won't say beg, borrow or steal a child (PLEASE DON'T DO THAT), pretend that you are a kid again and see if you don't feel your heart growing, to quote Dr. Seuss, 3 sizes bigger.