On all those memes asking if we might have a white Christmas, I mentioned it wasn’t likely here in SC. We had about five minutes of snow yesterday, but then rain for most of the day, turning to slush with ice pellets by evening. Even before the ice, the rain was kind of a miserable cold rain and the wind alternated between turning my umbrella inside out or pushing it on top of my head. By the way, I learned that when your umbrella does get inverted, it doesn’t help much to try to pull on it to get it back down, but aiming it in the direction the wind is coming from helps the wind push it back down.

I persevered because I really wanted to get done, partly because I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like today, partly because I try to avoid malls and W-Mart on pre-Christmas Saturdays, and partly because we have Special Plans (not involving Christmas) for next week — which I’ll wait to tell you about until afterward! 😀 I’ll explain why then.

Janet at Across the Page posted an excerpt from C. S. Lewis’s thoughts on Christmas. Here is just one part:

You have only to stay over Christmas with a family who seriously try to ‘keep’ it (in its third, or commercial, aspect) in order to see that the thing is a nightmare. Long before December 25th everyone is worn out — physically worn out by weeks of daily struggle in overcrowded shops, mentally worn out by the effort to remember all the right recipients and to think out suitable gifts for them. They are in no trim for merry-making; much less (if they should want to) to take part in a religious act. They look far more as if there had been a long illness in the house.

I have certainly had Christmas seasons like that, where it felt more burdensome than joyful. I liked all the individual elements, but all together with the extra events on the calendar and all the regular everyday responsibilities just created too much pressure.

We’ve scaled back in the gift-giving department. We used to give to all the nieces and nephews until they got to the age where you never knew what they’d like and never heard back from them. It was fairly easy when they were little and were satisfied with any toy. Then they married and started having their own kids, and there just got to be too many people to keep up with. We used to give to my siblings (Jim is the youngest in his family and they stopped giving to each other long before) and their husbands, but eventually it became the same issue — too many people and no real knowledge of what anyone would like. Living 1,000 miles away, we’re not aware of the everyday things they could use or would like, and just trading gift cards seemed useless to me. Then sending packages costs extra time and money. We tried drawing names one year and it just didn’t go over well, though that works for many families. So eventually we just phased out everyone but our kids, parents, and a few close friends.

So that helps a lot. I love giving, but as Lewis pointed out, the gift-giving of olden days was much less than it is now, and it is not the main point.

Getting started early helps, too. I keep saying I am going to do my Christmas cards Thanksgiving weekend, but haven’t yet. I need to do better in this department.

Online shopping has helped a lot, as well. It’s much easier to search a store site for a size or color that I need rather than looking through every.pair.of.pants in a store to find the elusive sizes my menfolk need. But other things really need to be seen and handled in person before making a decision. Now that my guys are older and into geeky technology stuff, my husband buys most of that kind of thing because he know much more about what it is or where to find it than I do, and that helps a lot.

Also, some years we haven’t gone to every party and program available, either. I enjoyed all of them once we got there, but the preponderance of extra things to attend can create pressure in itself.

I’ve learned, too, that though I’ve sometimes felt too rushed or pressured for regular devotions, I must continue to take that time, no matter what else does or doesn’t get done. I can’t expect to have God’s peace or the right attitudes or perspective without it. I’ve mentioned before that I am reading the devotional book Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, which I hope to say more about next week, but I can see its use becoming a yearly tradition.

A great post along these lines I just discovered yesterday through a reference on Facebook: 3 Ways to Put the “Merry” in “Merry Christmas“ at Women Living Well. I heartily recommend it.

From an old Generous Wife newsletter I kept this quote:

In planning for your holidays, realize that your husband would love to have a peaceful, happy wife.  Work to scale back and simplify your holiday plans (grab a pad and pencil, write down everything that you plan to do, circle and do the really important stuff, cut back on the rest or cross it off your list altogether).  Being an unfrazzled wife is one of the kindest gifts you can give your husband for the holidays.  You really don’t have to do it all.

Though it is from a wife’s perspective, it is true for everyone — it’s good to be an unfrazzled friend, church member, co-worker, sibling, etc.

So whatever we do or don’t do, however we scale down or not, each individual and family needs to find what works best for them to keep the right balance, perspective and joy of the season.

I also wanted to share with you this sweet video I saw on Chrysalis yesterday. It’s made by a family with seven children who are missionaries in Haiti, though I couldn’t tell from their site what kind of missionaries they are. Their children portray the Christmas story — with real donkey and lambs! — but the highlight is the little seven-year-old girl singing with a beautiful, clear voice. Her “Glory to God” has been echoing in my mind ever since I heard it. It’s a nicely done video and the kids are all precious.