My Grown-Up Christmas List: Part 1

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4

We have a bad habit of not checking our mail. All our bills are sent electronically, and most of the mail we receive is junk mail, other than my Cherry Bombe and Magnolia magazines. After a week or so, Terry walked from the mailboxes quickly dividing the mail into what was garbage and what was good. I saw his pile of recyclable mail and stopped him with a more empathic voice than I intended, “Don’t throw away the Target toy catalog, I want to look at it!” He seemed kind of surprised, and although I justified it by saying it was for my grandchildren, I felt a tingling inside. I wanted to look at the catalog for myself.

The arrival of the toy catalog is my favorite childhood Christmas memory. I poured over the glossy pages, envisioning the toys I wanted. With a red pen, I circled the Barbie Dreamhouse, imagining how I would have fancy furniture and an elevator in my home. I circled the ice block mold, planning to create my own igloo of safety. I marked the dress-up clothes, pretending for a few minutes that I was a princess from a faraway land. I even made a circle around the art supplies, secretly wishing I was an artist creating beautiful, museum-quality pieces. With each circle, I hoped Santa, or my mom would know what I desired. I knew even as my pen hit the shiny paper, I was never going to get everything I wished for, and maybe not get anything I wished for. But just opening the catalog made me feel hopeful. It created an anticipation that anything was possible. And for a few hours with that catalog, I was an ordinary girl without the burdens no child should carry.

The holiday season has officially kicked off. Explosions of Christmas cheer fill the aisles at Target, Chick-fil-A in Chambersburg drips with lights, and Thanksgiving menus are being planned. Andy Williams bellows “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” while Terry and I are deciding which Christmas book we want to read together this year. It is the season where we are often divided between the Grinches and Scrooges on one side, and the Hallmark groupies and Christmas cheerleaders on the other side.

Although I lean towards the side that loves the holiday season, I, too have experienced some Grinch-like feelings during the season. And I know I am not alone. Sometimes I have felt the stress of producing Christmas magic for others. Other times, I have wanted to cram in everything good and I end the holiday season completely worn out. And sometimes, I have lost any motivation to celebrate the holidays. And sometimes these feelings have happened all at the same time, making me feel like a yo-yo.

For the past five years, I have been reevaluating how I do the holidays. Some of it’s been natural transitions as our children are now married with families of their own. Other decisions have helped me streamline the holidays and make them less stressful. The result is not perfect, I still slide into old habits, but overall, I am more at peace. Most importantly, these decisions have been life giving to me and those around me.

Over twenty years ago, Amy Grant recorded the song “My Grown-up Christmas List” written by David Foster. The song talks about how a little person used to believe that dreams came in packages beneath the tree. But as an adult, this person now has different ideas about what he/she wishes for during the season. Ideas like “that wars would never start, and time would heal all hearts, and everyone would have a friend”.  It’s an ideal list set to music that whispers hope and dreams. And every year, despite my tendency to go off tune, when I hear this song in my home without anyone to judge, I belt out the words along with Amy Grant, and it never gets old.

For the next few weeks, I am going to share my grown-up Christmas list. Some of the list will be practical ideas how I have made my holidays more magical and less stressful. I plan on highlighting some local businesses and how they help make the holidays unique and personal. I also hope to address some of the common pitfalls that make relationships challenging during the holiday season. My prayer is that the list will inspire you to find ways to make the holidays more meaningful. So, join me for the next few weeks as I share with you “My Grown-up Christmas List.”