I do love Christmas, really I do, but it seems it’s been Christmas around here since right after Halloween! All the stores in our little town started selling decorations and trees even before November hit the calendar. And then there’s the television movies where everyone lives in a perfect world in a perfect house and they do it all — the caroling, the cookie baking, the gingerbread houses, the ugly sweater parties — you name it — they do it. It leaves me tired of Christmas before December!

At least there’s always a happy ending in those Christmas movies or I’d never watch another one.

I’m probably among the very few that hasn’t put up a tree yet. When I was little, we got our tree just a week or so before Christmas. I didn’t have time to get tired of it. By Christmas night, my mama had already taken everything down. I must say there’s nothing sadder than a Christmas tree without any presents under it. And yes, she still takes down her tree on Christmas night.

My oldest son, a single father of three has had his tree up for weeks. It’s the same with my daughter. Since her first child was born, or maybe even before, she and her husband go out the weekend after Thanksgiving and cut down their tree. And does she decorate! There’s Christmas everywhere in her house. I really do love it but not enough to do it for my home. My daughter-in-law has had her tree up for over a week. I feel for her. She has five kids and her youngest is only three. I just wonder how many times Miss Gracie will have the tree re-decorated by Christmas morning!

Christmas Overload

I really think I have Christmas Overload. There’s no way to catch up now. It’s already December 6! I’ll be lucky if I find all the 10 grandkids something to put under the tree. When my kids were little by now I’d have Christmas cookies and pumpkin bread already baked and mostly eaten!

Well, I know I don’t want to turn into a Scrooge so I’ll have to find a way to make this Christmas more handmade. I’m lucky to have lots of evergreen trees so I can break out my wreath-building items and make a few of those. I love walking around all my trees and cutting different kinds of pine boughs and cedars. It makes the house smell wonderful.

I will make at least one batch of Candy Cane Cookies. You know the recipe where you mix up sugar cookie dough then add red food coloring to half of the dough along with crushed candy canes. Roll out some dough worms and twist them into candy canes. My kids always loved those.

If I get real ambitious I’ll buy some graham crackers and Christmas candy. Then I’ll mix up some icing and put it into ziplocks for the grandkids to make their own “gingerbread houses.”

I did this many years with my own three.

Coping with Christmas Stress

Then there’s my Christmas houses. I used to put them out every year. They’re a lot of fun and the kids just love them. They are also a lot of work to put up and take down. I’ll ponder on that for a while.

How many of you feel stress about Christmas? Do you attempt to do everything you’ve always done for your family? I think when it stops being fun, we should pare it down a bit.

Whatever you do, I hope you have the time of your life getting ready for Christmas and enjoy each and every moment.