With Halloween sadly over, many people are already diving headfirst into decorating and preparing for Christmas. I’ve already seen people flooding Snapchat and Instagram with images of their trees and decor, and it’s only November 1st.
I have no issue with the concept of Christmas, but the pressure and expectations that come along with it tend to be too much for me. It’s a stressful holiday on top of an already stressful year, and Christmas always seems to be everywhere, yet sneaks up on me so quickly.
The practice of gift-giving is definitely not my love language, and thus doesn’t come naturally to me; I always find myself running out of time and feeling like my gifts aren’t good enough. This feeling of inadequacy is bad enough during December, but every year Christmas seems to be creeping further and further into the year.
I propose that we at least make it through Thanksgiving before we let the Christmas festivities begin because while I appreciate the joy it brings to many people, the dread it brings to others needs to be recognized.
And if you are going to celebrate Christmas this early, try to focus less on the material aspects of Christmas and more on the spirit of it. Focus on the love and compassion for others that the holiday is supposed to represent.
We’ve all been through enough this year, so why don’t we lessen our stress by remembering what’s really important and not letting the expectations of a perfect Christmas keep us down for the next 54 days.