On Halloween it looked like we might run out of candy and so I was dispatched to the store get more. But there was no Halloween candy left at the store. There was nothing but Christmas candy.
On November the first, municipal workers got busy putting up Christmas decorations in downtown Wilmington. The supermarket has started playing Christmas carols on the sound system. The aisles are filling up with jackets and toys and other things that you normally won’t find in a food store.
And we’ve just finished with the retail industry's great Day After Thanksgiving kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. That got my daughter up at 3 so she and her team could get ready to open her Best Buy store at 6 AM. It's still dark at 6 AM.
Is all this necessary? If you have to run and fight all the way to Christmas you’re going to be too tired, frustrated and edgy to enjoy the day. That's not only a bad idea, it's about as far as possible from the original reason for Christmas.
So, why not slow down just a bit this year? How about trying to do a little less with a little less stress and enjoy the holiday more? It won’t happen by accident, but it can be done. Here are a few suggestions.
Start by figuring out what you don’t have to do. It seems like every year we add something new because it's a good idea at the time. But when you put all those good ideas together, the result often turns out to be a bad idea.
Take Christmas lights. Maybe you don’t have to put all those lights up. Maybe it will be OK even if your house isn’t visible from deep space.
What about presents? Do you have to buy so many? Do you have to spend so much? There may be some folks for whom a card will be just fine. For others, maybe you can agree on a one or two gift limit. This may not only let you slow down some, it will also greatly improve your finances come December 26.
Next, the parties. How many times last year did you say, “I really don’t want to go to this party tonight, but …” This year, leave off the “but” and don’t go. Make excuses if you must, but surely you can miss a party or two and still feel festive, maybe even more festive because you’re rested.
Now, for the shopping itself. There are lots of ways to take some of the stress out.
Start by finding out what people want so you don’t have to guess, worry, and wonder. Ask them for lists. Paper lists are good. Online wish lists are good. Lists help you plan your shopping, limit your buying, and feel more in control of your shopping time.
If you haven’t tried online shopping yet, this would be a good time to start. People like me shop online all year round for some very good reasons.
You have way more selection online than you have in any store, or even in any town. And online you can search more effectively for what you want than you can by walking through the racks and pawing the merchandise in a physical store.
Most likely, the stores where you usually shop have an online presence. That's also true for those catalogs you’ve learned to love. But there's more. Museum gift shops and special interest sites are great sources of gifts that just aren’t available in local stores. Online you can visit several without leaving home.
Online you don’t have to worry about when the stores open. They’re open, period. So shop when you feel like it. Spend a quick fifteen minutes between projects shopping for Uncle Robert's sweater. Sit down after dinner and tick a few items off your gift list while listening to music you like on your own sound system.
That's one of the great reasons to shop online. You control the environment. You don’t have to drive. You don’t have to fight for parking. And you don’t have to listen to the “Little Drummer Boy” if you don’t want to.
If you want to keep some reason in the season, you’ve got to take a little control, set some limits, and use the resources available to you to make this a truly blessed Christmas season.
1 December 2003
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