DAY FIVE
This assignment involves others. If you have a spouse or significant other, children still living at home, or others in your household who you’ll need to mesh your holiday plans with, this would be a good time to have them go through the first four days’ of Simple Christmas exercises.
Allow them some time alone with their thoughts to answer and think about the questions for themselves, and then get together and compare notes.
Ask them each the following question:
“What one thing says ‘Christmas’ to you?”
Now listen, really listen, to the answers. You may be surprised. It could be something as simple as what you traditionally have for breakfast on Christmas morning, which ornament you hang on the top branches of the tree, which TV show or movie you watch on Christmas Eve, or even something as simple as driving around looking at holiday light displays.
As always, there are no right or wrong answers. Just responses that are true for you and for each of your loved ones, individually.
Tomorrow, we’ll start looking at some ways to put our discoveries over the past few days into some practical steps to bring clarity and joy to your own celebrations.
“Because commercialism has eaten away at the vitality of the celebration and because families are going through such radical changes, people can no longer rely on habit or the passive acceptance of a prepackaged Christmas for a rewarding celebration. They must define for themselves what they value about Christmas and create a celebration that meets their families’ unique needs.” – from Unplug the Christmas Machine
NEXT: What Have Your Learned So Far?
A Frugal Simple Life 