Christmas again.....

Here we are heading into that crazy xmas month again! A lot is lost in the process of organisation and shopping. Peace of mind, gentleness and patience seem to drop away as we replace them with a determined eye for a bargain, stressing over not having enough money, getting the house ready for visitors or dragging a tired toddler through hot busy streets. Christian or not, if we are going to celebrate xmas me might recall that it is about love and goodwill among men!

What I love about our family Xmas is just that, family and love. I love the easy day at the beach, the evening barbeque, the reminiscing and the catching up, I love the jokes and laughter and the sharing of food.  And I love that we have kept the shopping and financial stress to a minimum by having a family secret Santa, and a simple yet scrumptious salad and barbeque dinner! This has been our tradition since always and the kids look forward to it…although they are not really kids anymore!! I look forward to seeing my kids and their partners and to making my hubby wear a Santa hat! Simple and good!

But I really ,really dislike seeing kids being yelled at by flustered parents in shopping centres, folk getting drunk and fighting in the street , agitated drivers beeping and yelling at each in shopping centre car parks. It just doesn’t feel xmassy.

We could also think about those who don’t have the choice of food and lifestyle that we do, I could go on and on with a long list now, but it’s heartbreaking……just think a little outside of your immediate square folks, and reach out to someone….there are great gift cards for most charitable organisations and there may just be someone down the road or in the next block that needs a smile and someone to share their xmas day with……keep it simple and remember  it’s about peace, love and goodwill to others…and judgement, angst, stress, are anathema to the  spirit of xmas.