Joy To The World! November 29, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Less IS More, Poetry.trackback
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
This year,
instead of spending
the Holidays in crowded stores,
running up credit card debt that will take
months to pay off, to buy stuff that
will soon be collecting dust,
simplify your celebration
by focusing on the
reason for the
season:
PEACE
Reconnect
with the Holiday Spirit *
Join S.C.R.O.O.G.E. (the Society
to Curtail Ridiculous, Outrageous, and Ostentatious
Gift Exchanges) * Watch Holiday Classics with your wee ones
* Pop popcorn and string some for the tree * Make homemade ornaments *
Light a candle and say a Prayer for someone each night in December *
Decorate an outdoor
tree with nuts, seeds,
& berries for the birds
JOY
Have
your kids
pick a favorite charity
and donate time or money
during the Holidays * Instead of
giving a gift to someone who already
has everything, have a tree planted in their honor *
Visit a Prison, Nursing Home, Children’s Ward, or Homeless
Shelter with simple homemade gifts (cookies, candy & cards) * Focus
on giving gifts that
foster family fun
(Puzzles, Food,
Movies, Games)
LOVE
Invite
Neighbors and
Friends over for Cocoa,
Cookies, and Carols * Read
Dickens, A Christmas Carol (“God
Bless Us, Everyone!”) to your children
or grandchildren * Adopt a family or child for
Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Hanukkah and make sure they
have a Holiday Feast to remember * Go Caroling around your
neighborhood and admire the decorations * Focus on the blessings and
abundance in your life * Spend a few moments in reverential silence each
evening * Perform one act of kindness each day during the Holidays * Say a
fervent Prayer for
Peace on Earth
and Goodwill
towards Man
May we all delight in the Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy of this Festive Season, whether we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice!
Related posts: Gifts of Hope * Experiential Gifts * More Trash to Treasure
Related Articles
- Green Christmas Ideas – Simple, Frugal and Ethical (lillslist.com)
- A More Meaningful Holiday (retrohousewifegoesgreen.com)
- Control Holiday Spending Without Being A Scrooge
Spirit Lights The Way 
Love your trees 😀
Thanks! We started incorporating simple pleasures into our holiday celebration a few years ago.
My favorite . . . turn out the lights, put on a Winter Solstice CD, and bask in the glow of the tree and a few candles.
Wonderful approach, Nancy, Maddie fell in love with your bird Christmas tree idea and is designing as we speak. We may have to run off a copy of this and baton it to the fridge. Brilliant, practical advice. Thank you.
Yay! We loved doing that at our last house. If you spread peanut butter on a pine cone, then roll it in birdseed . . . the birds say YUM! (so will the raccoons)
Here, there are too many birds to feed, but they aren’t contending with freezing temps.
Don’t know how I missed this the first time around, but I’m glad you gave me the link! It’s all a part of the great Advent & Christmas Conspiracy! Thanks, Nancy!
As you see, I’m doing my best to get the word out to as many as possible. Our church will be digging/building a well outside of Nairobi this spring with the money we will collect in water bottles (1/2 liter) that were handed out the Sunday before Thanksgiving. All who wanted (100’s did!)took a bottle, drank the water in gratitude, and were asked to fill the bottle with money (bills, change or check). This “water money” will be used to build that well. Such a small and simple thing to do, and such a great pay-off. There are so many ways we can enjoy Advent and Christmas that do not involve spending one dime on useless “things,” and bring so much more joy than any consumerism ever will or could.
When I saw your post, this post seemed to be a perfect fit. The more we have simplified the season, the more we have enjoyed it.
I love the idea of raising money to provide drinking water to those who don’t have ready access to it.
I guess the part I like about it most is not just raising money, but giving the money INSTEAD of spending it elsewhere on unneeded things. It rings so very true for me, and it is liberating! As much as I enjoy giving gifts – always the most fun of Christmas – I so much more welcome the opportunity to do a little good for people in so much greater need. I no longer have that “push/shove” to get out to the stores and just buy – sometimes just for the sake of buying something. Free at last!
Our sons and their families, and of course Zoë, for her first Christmas, will all be joining us here at the ol’ homestead. We’ll prepare a feast together, and sit down and ENJOY it! Perhaps we’ll be a bit tired from having provided all the music for the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service, but we will not be suffering from last minute-itis and/or shopping overload!
Merry Christmas, indeed!
I feel the same way. For most of the past 10 years, or so, we’ve given the adults on our list gifts like planting trees in National Forests (through the Arbor Day Foundation and National Wildlife Federation) or giving gift memberships to charities (like Audubon or Green America). Much more fulfilling than buying them STUFF to CLUTTER up their homes.