Cutting Back on Christmas

 

Image by stockking on Freepik

Hello,  my name is Cheryl, and I am addicted to Christmas decorating. 

I know it.

My family knows it. 

My friends know it.

The Internet is learning it. 

We've spoken about putting up and taking down Christmas decorations before. It takes me 2 - 3 days of dedicated time to decorate the house, but I love it. Yes, it's tiring, but it brings so much joy to my family and me that it's worth every exhausted moment. 

Since I know there is a ton of stuff, I've held off on buying anything new unless they wore out--like lights and garland. But this year, we added a lit barn I won at a bazaar, and the family bought me a musical TV that lights up; similar to this one, but prettier. 

This weekend, my husband helped me carry down boxes of packed decorations into the basement. As he is carrying one of the last bags, he suggests we don't put up as many decorations next year.

Like what?

Has he met me?

Have I ever done anything halfway?

Even the year we moved into this house, which was two weeks before Christmas in 1999, we had a decorated home, and I hosted my family on Christmas Eve. 

I've known people who have cut back as time went on. Some don't even decorate anymore. That's not for me; at least not while I have the strength to decorate to my heart's content. 

After Christmas Sales

 

Anyone else shopping after Christmas sales? Might be hard to find items hidden behind the Valentine's Day decorations that popped up before Christmas Eve, but when I visited Ocean State Job Lot recently, I found their Christmas overstock marked down 50% from the original prices. 

I grabbed tissue paper, gift bags, gift tags, and a bag of pretty bows because I was out of tissue and bows by the time wrapping was over. 

Have you seen any good after Christmas deals lately?

Taking it All Down

 

This is the weekend all the Christmas decorations are coming down. Since some of the trees didn't get decorated until Christmas Eve, I used that as my excuse to keep them up for a while. As the end of January nears, even the Christmas Queen (me) wants her house back. 

This year, I bought two mini evergreens that the girls decorated with lights and ornaments. Now that it is so cold, I brought them inside, took off the ornaments, and will do my best to keep them alive so I can plant them in the yard this spring. 

Though we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, I will add red, white, and pink into my decor as much as I can. I'm thinking of actually keeping one of the smaller trees up and decorating it year round for the various holidays. 

Have you ever or do you now have a tree up year round? If so, what inspired you to do it?

Tips to Help with the Winter Blues

 

Photo credit freepik.com

Does anyone else suffer from the "winter blues?" Medically known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this condition is a type of depression one can experience during the changing of seasons and is known to begin and end about the same time every year. 

Among the symptoms Johns Hopkins Medicine states are associated with SAD are:

• Irritability and anxiety,
• Decreased ability to focus or concentrate,
• Weight gain, 
• Loss of interest and pleasure in activities formerly enjoyed. 

Some ways I've helped reduce the symptoms of SAD during the winter months are:

• Opening the blinds in my office during the day to let in more natural light
• Keeping Christmas lights around my window in the evenings or using a grow light in my office
• Increase my physical activity or exercise
• Track my eating habits to encourage a more balanced diet
• Writing in a journal
• Calling a friend

While these tips might be helpful, they are not meant to take the place of medical advice. Talk to your doctor to see what they would recommend. 

Pressure to Create the Perfect Holidays

 

Let's get serious. Now that our decorations are tucked away--well, my trees are still up--do you feel pressured to create the perfect holiday? Every year, do you insist that this will be the year you simply won't put pressure on yourself to have the decorations looking Instagram worthy, shopping and wrapping done early, and baking completed early so you can enjoy the season? And in your dream world, is your house clean the entire time and everyone helps out and is cheery the month of December? 

Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube might not be your friend during the holidays. Those platforms are filled with creative people who can easily make us feel inadequate; like everything you do is the Charlie Brown tree compared to their creations.

Never will our house look like the stock photo above. Sometimes the Christmas letter doesn't make it out until New Year's Day. This year, I shopped until the day before Christmas Eve and baking was done by everyone else. I'm not even sure the kitchen floor got washed before everyone arrived Christmas Day. But here are some photos from our holiday season, which means we still got to experience the joy of the season.

Our oldest daughter (in black) dancing for charity

Poor Dwight

Meeting friends at the Christmas bazaar

The white tree

New Additions to My Christmas Reading: Christian Fiction by Kathi Macias

After Christmas, I spoiled myself with a few on sale books from one of my favorite Christian authors, Kathi Macias. 

Return to Christmas beautifully blends the two struggling worlds of a former marine and a little boy with attachment disorder. Former Marine Chet is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. He doesn't need help. He needs employment. He doesn't have issues. The little boy his friends adopted has issues. But there is something about that little boy that draws him. Will the events leading up to this Christmas be able to melt his soldier heart or will he spiral into a dark depression?

A Husband’s Christmas Prayer pulls back the curtain on struggles pastors and their families face. Pastor Paul has been handed the promotion of his dreams, but his formerly supportive wife doesn’t share his sentiment about moving. She liked where she was―her home, church family, coffee with friends while the kids were at daycare. Why did they have to move? They both know there is a rift growing between them. As he ministers to difficult people, will he also be able to minister to his own family?

Chiapas, Mexico, had proven to be the distraction and escape Julie needed. As a teacher, she had longed to travel and instruct abroad. Now, she was teaching and falling in love with her students. But what she didn't expect happened in the short days leading up to Christmas. She didn't know that her freedom would depend on Ramon, the local pastor. She didn't anticipate the emotions this man of God would stir deep in her spirit. This Christmas Eve service would be unlike any other she had ever experienced. Would this simple man and his faith be enough to cause her to stay when she had every reason to leave?

For these and more titles by Kathi Macias, you can visit her website at https://kathimacias.com

Are Your Christmas Decorations Still Up?

 

How many people still have their Christmas decorations up? I tucked away some of the decor and pulled down the outside lights before this weekend's snowstorm, but all my trees are still up. 

Christmas Books in My TBR Pile

 

Celebrating the Epiphany Around the World

 

Photo credit freepik.com

Today, Christians around the world will celebrate Epiphany, or as some call it, Three Kings' Day. This is the official end of the Christmas season and the observance of the coming of the Magi. The visit of the Magi is shared in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 1 - 12. 

The well-known--and sometimes annoying--Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," celebrates the Christmas season, which runs from Christmas Day through Epiphany. 

Web-holidays talks about how some countries celebrate Epiphany. You can read the article at https://web-holidays.com/blog/2014/12/15/january-6-epiphany/

Wassailing, which is known as going from house to house singing while drinking wassail, is traditionally done on Epiphany Eve (January 5), also called Twelfth Night. You can find a recipe for wassail at https://www.farmersalmanac.com/holiday-wassail-punch-11649

Christmas Cookbooks: The Christmas Movie Cookbook by Julia Rutland

 

While browsing social media one day in November, I came across an ad that included The Christmas Movie Cookbook by Julia Rutland. One of the kids ended up buying me this book for Christmas. 

This colorful and fun cookbook includes recipes from some of your favorite holiday films--or films with memorable Christmas scenes--through the decades: The Polar Express, Little Women, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, Christmas in Connecticut, Gremlins, Elf, and more.

Separated into typical cookbook section format, the glossy pages include beautiful photographs and a discussion of the movie from which each recipe comes. Rutland opens with her introduction, tips for entertaining, and holiday menu ideas based upon the recipes found inside, then concludes with metric charts for those outside of the United States, a helpful index, and information about herself.

What I love most about The Christmas Movie Cookbook is the variety of recipes included and the diverse types of movies featured. Whether you are looking for new holiday menus to inspire your entertaining, seeking to find some interesting pop culture tidbits, or just want to try some new recipes, The Christmas Movie Cookbook is an excellent resource to explore.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ S&S/Simon Element (September 6, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982189371
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982189372

This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas in January?

 Did you know that some people celebrate Christmas in January? Since the exact date of the birth of Jesus remains unknown, some Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 7. Here are two articles that talk about it:

Time

Euronews

Many of my friends leave their decorations up until the feast of the Epiphany, which is January 6. You can read about that here.

So, when do you take your decorations down? Day after Christmas, after New Year's Day, or later?

I Watched This Movie So You Don't Have To - Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

 

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is a Timeless Films production for Netflix that released in 2022. This animated film features the voice talents of:

• Luke Evans as Scrooge,
• Fra Fee as Harry, 
• Johnny Flynn as Bob Cratchit,
• Rupert Turnbull and Oliver Jenkins as Tiny Tim,
• Jonathan Pryce as Jacob Marley,
• Olivia Colman as the Ghost of Christmas Past,
• Trevor Dion Nicholas as the Ghost of Christmas Present,

and a host of others voicing characters that will likely be familiar to fans of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It tells the story of penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by his deceased partner and three ghosts on Christmas Eve, in the hopes of transforming Scrooge before it's too late. Though I have never seen the 1970 musical retelling of A Christmas Carol titled, Scrooge, starring Albert Finney, this animated version from last year is a remake of that. 

Technology being what it is these days, viewers can expect a supernatural, colorful, and sometimes frightening tale. I couldn't recommend this for young children. Marley's ghost looks more like an angry Flying Dutchman from SpongeBob SquarePants, than a tortured soul seeking to save his business partner from the same fate. The Ghost of Christmas Future and his flying goblins with flame-filled eyes might conjure up a few nightmares. 

One thing I didn't understand is that in the 1970's version starring Finney and in this 2022 Netflix version, Scrooge's nephew's name has been changed from Fred to Harry. Seems like such an odd change. 

While the voice talents of the actors was outstanding, I'll likely never watch Scrooge: A Christmas Carol again. The producers blended parts of the 1970's version with new ideas, but it fell flat. If it were more kid-friendly, like the Disney or Mr. Magoo version of A Christmas Carol, it might have been easier to enjoy. With the addition of Marley's dog, Prudence, who Scrooge takes care of, that is the direction one thought it might go in the beginning. But, those hopes are dashed quickly. 

Release date: December 2, 2022 (United States)

Countries of origin: United Kingdom, United States

Official site: Netflix

Production Companies: Timeless Films

Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

I watched this movie on Netflix. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.