I’ve been having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit
this year. The weather has certainly played a big part. This prolonged Indian
summer we’ve been enjoying has given us comfortable temperatures and a total
lack of accumulated snow prior to Thanksgiving. Not that I’m complaining, mind
you. It’s just weird. I can hardly believe that December starts this week.
But the holidays are here, and we all better get into the swing
of them but quick. Because even with all of the downsides — the crass
commercialism, the crowded stores, the relatives whose necks you want to
squeeze so tightly that their heads pop right off (but I digress) — there
really is something amazing about this time of year. The music is cheerier,
there’s an excitement in the air, and people have a tendency to be a little bit
nicer to one another (minus that whole relative-strangling thing).
Working on this year’s Holiday Guide helped me to get excited
for the next few weeks, and I hope it does the same for you. I am totally
snatching Deb Schleede’s “holiday auction” idea from
her piece on gift-giving alternatives to Secret Santa. I can’t count the number
of concerts I hope to attend that Paloma Capanna included in her holiday music
preview. And hopefully I can squeeze in one or two events from the holiday
calendar before January 1 rolls around. I cannot believe I have never seen that
gingerbread-house exhibit at the George Eastman House, or been to the lighting
of the Liberty Pole. I’m making time for both this year. How are you going to
make sure to make the most of your holidays?
This article appears in Nov 22-22, 2011.
