Happy Holly-Dazed.

Went out shoppin’ with the fam’ tonight. First time this holiday season. Being in Amarillo, traffic wasn’t that bad (our idea of rush hour is when a Farmer’s combine breaks down on what we laughingly here call the “Loop”…it was a good 12 months after I moved here before I was able to stop laughing maniacally, every time someone mentioned the words “rush hour” locally). Of course, some places are the same the world over. Never been in a Hobby Lobby at any time of day/year, for instance, where there wasn’t a line at every available register. But I digress.

I love Christmas. Not the commercialized, gotta get your shopping done early, stress over what to wear, PC Christmas. I mean the real Christmas, where we stop to think about our families and friends, see people we’ve neglected, spend quality time with our kids and parents, and set our priorities straight. THAT Christmas. You know. The one where we Christians celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I used to work retail. I can’t think of anything (short of becoming some sort of fundamentalist zealot nutjob) that would spoil a person’s appreciation of Christmas more than working retail. The deal is, when you work retail, all you can really think about is how badly your feet hurt, what kind of commission you’re making, how rude that last customer was, and what time you get off. Not exactly condusive to reflections on the human condition and your place in the Universe.

For those of you not yet in the Christmas spirit, here are a few suggestions to get your head in the right place.

• Drive around and look at Christmas lights
• Go see a kid’s Christmas pageant
• Decorate your dwelling for Christmas
• Watch a Christmas special on TV
• Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time, just to catch up
• Listen to some good Christmas music on the radio
• Make some hot buttered rum, egg nog, hot chocolate, or mulled apple cider
• Go carolling with some friends
• Bake some cookies (anybody can do Pillsbury) and take them to a retirement or nursing home
• Donate some old clothes to a homeless shelter
• Go to church and listen to the Advent music
• Go to Church on Christmas Eve for a candlelight Mass

I’m sure you can come up with some other ideas. I’m happy to say that I’ve already done most of the ones on my list, and it has made a huge difference in my Christmas cheer. I hope it can do the same for yours.

So let me be among the first to say, Merry Christ-Mass, and may you have a very happy holiday season.