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Monday, December 3, 2007
Will You Dine at Home for Christmas?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you ever eaten out for Christmas dinner? Did you end up eating Chinese like the Parker family in “A Christmas Story?” Were you out of town and had nowhere else to go? Did the chestnuts roasting on your open fire explode and set fire to the house? Were you marooned in an airport somewhere, singing Christmas carols over the phone to your loved ones? Did you have to work? Perhaps you went on an Austrian ski vacation? A cruise?
What’s your most memorable Christmas dinner in a restaurant?
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Special holiday videos — Watch No. 1 now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How best to get December started? I say watch a movie. All this month I’ll be bringing you a holiday video worth watching — and hearing.
Up first is this high-concept work called “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S CHRISTMAS” done with stop-motion filming and a nice, original song. Talk about being merry and bright!
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Do you live with a Grinch?
What is at the root of the bah-humming? Do you overdo the holidays? How can you simplify for a more joyful, restful holiday?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While the kids and I are gleefully pulling out holiday decorations and making our lists for Santa, my husband has begun his annual festering over how much he hates Christmas.
Like the Grinch holed up in his cave, my husband begins his slow boil a few weeks before Thanksgiving as soon as he sees the first ridiculously premature TV ad.
He grumbles; he groans: “The stores, the radio, the TV are turning what should be a magical couple of weeks into a slow death march of shopping, unnecessary decorating and burdensome tasks.”
My husband smolders over holiday traffic, unproductive employees, wasted money and the excess of the holidays. A Charlie Brown disciple, he thinks the holiday season is overblown and over-commercialized. His basic complaints are as follows:
It starts too early and lasts too long.
Workers don’t want to do anything — “It’s the holidays,” they say.
Schools don’t accomplish anything.
Every weekend is just a list to get done - shop, address and mail cards, shop, decorate.
He hates decorations. He finds them to be wastes of money, time and energy. And they clutter the house to boot.
He hates lines. He hates crowds. He hates traffic. All of these are in abundance at the mall. And, by the way, if you haven’t guessed, he hates malls.
He hates shopping in general, but especially at Christmas. It’s crowded. It’s gluttonous. He thinks Dante’s Inferno has a special level just for catalogs - especially the ones that come multiple times a week and display mostly candles.
And it all ends with that magical trip back to the miserable crowded mall to return all the stuff that you didn’t want or need in the first place.
Depressed yet? Bringing you down?
I usually just try to ignore his Scrooge imitation, but as I have been working on this piece and talking with him more about his feelings, I started to think maybe all his negativity could be used to improve our holiday experience. Maybe we could simplify to make it more enjoyable for everyone in the family.
Serendipitously, I ran across a book this week at the library called ‘Simplify Your Christmas - 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays,’ by Elaine St. James.
She suggests that families first make a list of the things they like about their holiday and the things they remember from their childhood. Then make a list of everything they don’t like. Narrow down the lists and choose a few things to continue.
Don’t buy into Madison Avenue’s image of what Christmas is supposed to be like - floor covered with toys under the tree, complicated parties and meals, expensive gifts.
Don’t buy the women’s magazines with “simple” projects that took three editors and a stylist weeks to create for publication.
She points out that organizing to get through all your holiday tasks (like shopping in June) is not simplifying. Start the holiday closer to the actual date and truly eliminate tasks.
Focus more what you can do with your family, but even that doesn’t have to be complicated. She gave an example of a family who used to drive into the city to see a big Christmas musical each year. It was stressful and expensive. They decided to skip it one year and heard carolers singing close-by. The family had a wonderful inexpensive musical experience in their own town.
Focus on charitable acts.
Reduce the amount you are buying. Give your time and talent instead - such as coupons to take adventures with your kids each month. If you must buy, she suggests giving consumable things (such as movie tickets, restaurant gift cards), not things that clutter.
The book is from 1998 and has a few dated references, but overall was a fast read and helpful at refocusing me for the holiday season.
I am decorating this weekend, and I will probably do less after reading this book. We already had limited the number of gifts per child this year, and I’m almost done with my shopping.
I want us to read, watch our favorite Christmas shows, bake and cuddle as a family. If the mood strikes to go and see lights or have people over, we’ll do it simply.
We’ve started our charitable acts, and I want the kids to do several this month. I liked the author’s suggestion of having the children do at least one kind thing a week.
I think maybe by simplifying a little, my Grinch will be more relaxed and happy and in return the whole family will be too.
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Giving gadgets? Read the manual first
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There you sit on Christmas morning. The cat has turned over the tree. Half the gadgets you bought as gifts don’t work. And you forgot to get batteries for little Alex’s Wild World Alien Helmet.
Merry Christmas.
I can’t help with the cat, but I can - in many cases from personal experience - warn you away from some of the high-tech gotchas that can turn a fine Christmas morning into a frantic mess. Stay with me today and I’ll save you some pain.
Electronic toys and gizmos that require assembly top my list of potential trouble spots. The first thing to understand is that some of these things are packed in a haphazard manner - sometimes with a key component left out.
So my first bit of advice: If any of your gifts are in the “easy assembly” category, open the package before you wrap it. You’ll usually find a list of components in the assembly instructions. Make sure everything on it is in the box. Then return everything to the box and wrap it up.
The next pitfall comes when the yet-to-be-assembled device is unwrapped. In my house, wrapping and boxes litter the floor within the first few minutes of the gifting frenzy. It’s easy for instruction manuals, small components and rebate coupons to be discarded. So keep a good watch out. Provide an empty box or other safe place for instruction manuals and the like.
Next lets talk about an affliction that seems to hit even those who normally are cautious and precise.
Here’s what happens: The new computer (or talking robot, or printer) has just been unpacked. Everyone has spent a few moments admiring it. Now, there is a herdlike rush to get it up and running.
You tell yourself you are practically a genius when it comes to putting things together so there’s no need for the manual. But there’s something about doing all this in a hurry - perhaps with an admiring audience - that invites mistakes. And your new computer’s set-up may be a bit different than your old one’s. So consider reading the manual before Christmas morning. If that would spoil the surprise, then force yourself to read through the entire manual before you start the set-up process.
Even when you’ve done that, slow down and carefully consult the illustrations in the manual that identify the various ports and connection points if you’re setting up a new computer. Mark any sections of the manual that are unclear. If you don’t understand something, use a Web site or knowledgeable friend to clear up confusion before you go further.
Finally, during the actual set-up, follow each step exactly. If the gadget - computers don’t fall into this category - has a long series of assembly instructions, check off each step as it is completed.
My final tip applies to devices that need a battery. There’s a rule that goes something like this: If a device needs four AA batteries, you’ll only have three. Or, if it needs AAA batteries you’ll only have the AA size. So make sure you have the right batteries and enough of them.
Next week: How to keep cats away from the tree.
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