Commercial Establishments Rush the Season.
It’s Happening now.
Two weeks ‘til GivingThanks Day…
Store Windows are being decorated;
Businesses are in full Regalia
Though not a fan of the Commercialism of Christmas
I do like Planning.
And I do like the Kind of Advance Preparation that makes things run Smoothly.
And I Like Christmas!
I also Like GivingThanks Day!
Department Store Windows Harangue us about Christmas Purchasing throughout November completely ignoring one of the Most Beautiful Holidays of All.
I don’t like the concept of “Black Friday”
Or “Cyber Monday”
Or the more recent appellation, “Black Thursday” — FORMERLY KNOWN AS THANKSGIVING!!!
I don’t see why ThanksGiving Weekend ought to be anything other than a Weekend with Friends and Family… spent in Gratitude, dwelling upon How Blessed we Are!
Shopping — Seeking outside of Ourselves Something that we can only Find Within,
is not the Answer.
It is not the way to spend a Holiday intended to celebrate Giving Thanks.

You want Christmas to be More?
To have more of the Magic it had when we were younger?
Now is a Good Time to Plan and Make that Happen.

Maybe Plan ThanksGiving Weekend as a Weekend of Giving Thanks —
Time with Loved Ones — a Celebration of Gratitude.

Today is Forty Days until Christmas!
Today, there’s plenty of time to get things in Order for a Wonderful Holiday Season.

Plan Your Gift List: Write it out Now.
Begin to think about if there is anyone for whom you might want to
Make a Christmas present:

Paint a SweatShirt…
Make a Pomander Ball
Write a Beautiful Poem or Story
Put together an Advent Calendar for a Special Kid
Decorate a Rock
Make a Special Beaded Necklace
Record a Special, Carefully Selected PlayList
Try SoapMaking
Dry some Flowers, set the petals with some fixative, and scent them for Potpurri
Decorate a Journal Cover
HandPaint some Ceramics, Glaze them and have them Fired
Explore Some Crafts
Begin sorting through Photos and Choosing ones that you can make (or have made) into Photo Gifts: Calendars, Mugs, Cookie Tins, Coasters, and Other Personalized Gifts
Begin Sorting Recipes for HomeMade Pantry Gifts & Baking
Sew or Knit or Make Something out of Felt with some Felt Fabric and Glue
Make a Snow Globe
Make a Unique Christmas Ornament
Hand Decorate a plain wooden Picture Frame
Hand Paint Wooden Spoons
Put Together a few of your Favorite Recipes into a self published CookBook
Make Someone a Website
Make a Fancy Hair Barrett, by Decorating an inexpensive Drug Store Barrett with Beads and Jewels
Choose from your BookShelf a few Favorite Books that you have Read and would like to share with People on your List whom you Love and for whom they Might make appropriate Special Gifts
With some Food Coloring and Essential Oils you can Fancy Up some Bath Salts for a Special Friend
Make a Hand-Decorated Clock
Use your Computer Savvy to make a Series of Coupons and put together a Coupon Book Good For things like “One Free House-Cleaning”; “One Dinner Cooked for You at Home”; “One Foot Massage”; “One Movie Night”; “One Adventure Together…”
But be Prepared to DO THEM when the person redeems the Coupons! (It’s not a Good Feeling to receive the “Gift” of a Broken Promise!)
Decorate an Inexpensive Wood Box from a Craft Store
Draw a Beautiful Picture. Maybe incorporate a Favorite Quote. Maybe Frame it.
Make some Decorative Magnets (You can buy two-sided Magnet Tape or some inexpensive small plain magnets to create some Magnets for Someone).

These are just a few ideas off the top of My head.
Most of them Cost Very Little Money.
But they Do Cost Time…

Most of us do not have time to invest in making things like this a week or two before Christmas.
But a Week or Two Before GivingThanks Day, we can still make the time…
We can Invest Now in a Holiday Season of Less Stress, Less Pressure, and More
Meaning-Full Giving!

Long Walk Part of Gift
 
The African boy listened carefully as his teacher explained why it is that Christians give presents to each other on Christmas Day. “The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our Friendship for each other,” she said.
When Christmas Day came, the boy brought to the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty. “Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?” the teacher asked, as she gently fingered the gift. The youth told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found. When he named the place, a certain bay several miles away, the teacher was left speechless. “Why… why, it’s gorgeous… wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get a gift for me.”
His eyes brightening, the boy answered, “Long walk part of gift”
— attributed to GERALD HORTON BATH
So you want CHRISTMAS to be Better this Year?
Long Walk Part of Gift
RUTH STAFFORD PEALE once said that when she and NORMAN VINCENT PEALE would get overwhelmed in the Madness of Christmas Preparations, and one of them wanted to just throw up their hands and give up, the other would stop and say, “Long Walk Part of Gift,” and they’d get back to what they were doing.
She went on to say that the more last minute chores, surprise guests, and just-one-more-gift excursions into town piled up, the more they remembered that what seemed like petty distractions from celebrating the season were really nothing of the sort — They were its Very heart!

Long Walk Part of Gift
Let’s Make that our Mantra over this Next Six Weeks.

This is the Time to Plant those Seeds.
This is the Time to Begin that Walk
And if we Invest some time now,
We can have a lot More Fun Then
With No Pressure
No Financial Stress
And Opening Up to Creative Ideas of What we can Give
And Do
And Make
And How we can Help Others
And Bring Joy
Throughout the Coming Holiday Season.

It is a Joyful Time!
This Moment!
This Present.
Now!

Let us Celebrate It!
And Let us Take that Long Walk
And Bring Back Perfect Gifts of the Heart
That will make for a Beautiful Rest-of-the-Year!

HAPPY 40-DAYS-‘TIL-CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY PRESENT MOMENT!