It's the age-old problem: the holidays arrive earlier and earlier every year. You get the Christmas-editions of your favorite magazines somewhere around the end of October, and I swear the Macy's at the Mall puts up their decor even earlier than that. Add living in metro Atlanta, and city-Christmas lights are almost covered over by car lights from insane Lenox Mall traffic. People everywhere are in a rush, and can be mean and careless in their haste. On TV, it's not much better. They switch from Thanksgiving programming 24-7 immediately into winter holiday cooking and decorating shows. Black Friday and --POOF!-- you better be thinking about your Christmas Eve meal because that's what Sandra Lee is talking about on Semi-Homemade. Newspapers advertise sales at every store, and our calendars are full with events all over town.
It can be so hard to sit back and really enjoy the season for what it is - which, funny enough, is usually the underlying "message" of all those articles and shows!
Every night, I come home from work, and after dropping down my bag and keys and turning on a light, the very first thing I do is go around and turn on all the Christmas tree lights and string lights that I have looped around. Then I immediately put on Christmas music. This is my little way of mentally shutting off the outside-world noise. I also take a moment to shut everything else off again right before bed, and enjoy the lights and music in the quiet.
What are some things you do on your own, with your roommates, or with a loved one that help you de-stress from the inevitable holiday rush? Share your tip, and help us all take it down a notch this season!
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