It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…WAY TOO SOON! Before Halloween even came, I walked through the stores searching for Halloween decorations and all I could find was Christmas decor.  I thought to myself, “What a way to spoil the holidays!”  The radio was playing Christmas carols and the Halloween candy was mixed in with tiny chocolate Santas and peppermint candy canes.  What is going on with American commercialization these days?

It seems that the holidays have lost their true meaning.  Making time for family around the dinner table, exchanging homemade gifts and baked goods, sending beautiful Christmas cards and volunteering to feed the homeless has turned into rushing around to be the first to buy the expensive toy that everyone else if fighting for, standing in line all day and night on Thanksgiving to catch the sales and sending emails to loved ones instead of  handwritten messages.  It’s all about one thing–MONEY!

I must admit that I do not enjoy the holidays, as I had during my childhood years.   Holidays seemed much more relaxing during that time.  We looked forward to my mom’s cooking and family visits.  We took the time to drink hot cocoa, as we decorated the tree and cookies together.  These days, I feel like I’m running a rat race to shop, wrap presents, decorate, bake, and visit numerous friends and family, making sure not to forget anyone.  It’s stressful!

This year, I have vowed to make the holidays simple.  I won’t give in to the sales, shopping and endless parties.  I will be home with my family, drinking cocoa and eating cookies, watching Frosty the Snowman.  These are the times that my children will remember, special time as a family.  I just hope to avoid the bikini sales in December!

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”  Roy L. Smith

Author: Rhonda Gutierrez