Giving and the Spirit of the Season

On this first day of December, one of my very favorite days of the year, I thought I would write about the spirit of giving.



Every year, as the holiday season approaches, I am filled to the brim with excitement and anticipation and a certain "feeling" I only get at this time of the year. I'm often challenged to define "the feeling", why the holidays are so important to me and how I can get so incredibly excited about an over-commercialized, mass marketed holiday......

I often wonder how the best intentions of the season and gift giving can exist in a society of consumerism and spending beyond ones means?

The simple answer is - I'm not sure. With each passing year I hear more and more people upset about the holidays: the money they have to spend, the crowds, the expectations....There seems to be this feeling that abstaining from the holidays, not "buying into the hype", is the cool thing to do. And yet, as a devout Christmas celebrator (the tradition, not the religion) I feel the need to defend those of us who are holiday-aholics:)

So here it goes: for me this season is about infectious warmth. A feeling that starts in my stomach (in November!) and keeps me cozy right through to the New Year. It's a feeling of remembrance and gratefulness and nostalgia. These are the weeks when I slow down and make time for things I never have time for (i.e. hand writing letters to everyone I know!) and love. It's the season when I "mark time". I reflect back on the year, the good and the bad, and feel thankful for all that I have....whatever that happens to be.



I think the feeling goes way back. I came from a very Christmas-focused family. My parents got excited about the holidays and so did we. Every year we would make the long drive from Waterloo, Ontario to rural PEI where my parents would get to see their parents and brothers and sisters for one, of only two, visits they got every year. As we drove, 6 people (and presents) packed in a K-Car, you could feel the excitement mounting. By the time we arrived, morning or night, we were all hopping with the anticipation of the big day.

At the time, my father was a grad student and my mom stayed home with me and my 3 siblings. They had none of the financial support from their parents that we enjoy today and the budget was tight. The kind of tight I will never know. There was no Joe Fresh and no Old Navy...kids clothes weren't cheap and as opposed to today, when I seem to pick up new things for Winnie any given day, we rarely got anything new outside of Christmas or birthdays. We knew better than to expect or ask for "things" and (most of the time) we accepted it as the norm.



Christmas, in contrast, was a remarkably different time in our house. Christmas was a time to dream big. We were given permission at this time of year to express what we really wanted....whether it was a set of novels or ice skating lessons or the newest, most hideous, My Little Pony: we were allowed to ask.

The remarkable thing was that my parents always came through. No matter how tight the finances, they found a way to "make Christmas happen". Don't get me wrong, it wasn't extravagant or over the top, but they made sure we each received the one thing we really wanted....when the Cabbage Patch Kids sold out in the mid-80s they bought one off the back of a truck (for me!), one year my father waited in line at 5 in the morning for the most coveted Fisher Price Kitchen for my youngest sister and they searched high and low for some good second hand figure skates when I really needed them and they couldn't afford new ones. They used the resources they had (big or small) to make magic for us....and that's what it was. It was magic.

I think it's that "magic" that embodies the spirit of the season for me. The feeling that anything is possible. The desire to give to others, making magic for them.

It's about using the resources I have to give what I can to those I love and those in need. It's not about the "things" or the "stuff", it's about giving more of me, making an effort. It's about taking the time to show someone that I love them, miss them, "get" them.

It's the reason I take the time to hand write my cards. Why I homemake gifts. Why I make an effort to preserve family traditions and create new ones for my family......why Winnie and I walk around town after her bedtime just to look at the lights:)

It seems to me, that it's the combination of tradition, togetherness, anticipation, giving happily...and a highly coveted gift (or two!), that make up the magic of the holiday season. It is the combination of all of these things, not just the presents, that give me that warm happy feeling....and the spirit that I hope we pass on to our children.

As the days count down and the excitement builds, I wish you all more: more time, more togetherness, more understanding. I wish you the feelings of joy and happiness that come only from giving to others and I hope that you end this year with peace and contentment, looking forward to all that the new year has to bring.



Happy December everyone!

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