Week #319 – Procrastinator Alert: Christmas is (still) on December 25th This Year!

Greetings All — and Happy Friday!!!

I’ve been taking the month of October to look ahead.  And as I’ve said before, it may be too far ahead for some — but in this pandemic-year-of-all-years we need all the help we can get to squeeze those lemons of limitation this holiday season! 

For Week # 317, I reminded you to check with your localities and get together with your neighbors to keep the Halloween fun going safely and responsibly for you and your family this year.

Last week I reminded you to take a look ahead to that Thanksgiving 4- or 5-day weekend that’s SURE to look no other — and to test what’s left (if anything) of our resilience this year!

And today…well, we are fast approaching October 25th. And that leaves me no choice but to go where nobody wants me to go:

I’m talking about Christmas!!!

And the reason I’m bringing it up is THREE-fold this year. 1) it’s much easier to talk about the holidays when they are a few months out and nobody really knows what they’re doing; and 2) wouldn’t you like to be the one who knows what you’re doing?!

And 3)…let’s all say it together:

PANDEMIC!

Unspoken expectations are probably the biggest (and quietest) killers of Christmas cheer in a normal year. For those who feel let down because their needs aren’t met…there’s disappointment. But for those who feel they didn’t live up to expectations…well, there’s guilt, shame, anger, self-loathing…just to name a few! 😉

And that’s no way to start a Christmas list!

But this year, all bets seem off because we don’t know WHAT to expect…or HOW to deliver the Christmases we all know and love. (And hey — even the ghosts of Christmases Not-So-Great are looking pretty good this year!)

Which brings me to Christmas Present. VERY Present.

This holiday season is sure to look like no other before — and hopefully, God willing, no other in the future. But that doesn’t mean we need to throw in the towel. This may be the one and only year we get to do some things we never got to do before (like stay home) — and might not get to do again.

An invitation:

If you’re interested in finding out what THIS Christmas can hold for you and your family — join me and about 500 other people from all across the country for Year #2 of the Christmas Project Planner. I served on the manuscript development team for this book, the launch team last year, and I’m helping facilitate the group this year on Facebook. (You can learn more about the book here…and the Facebook group here.) If you’d like to join in the fun…click “join” and tell them Grace from SpreadHappyness sent you! I get nothing out of it other than the joy of seeing you there!

We will start working through the 21 projects in that book starting November 4th — with one project a day M-F (weekends off) through December 4th. You do not need the book to join…but it’s a beautiful planner to record and reuse year after year (and I spiral bound mine to make it more user-friendly)!

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for every advantage I can get this holiday season to rest, relax, and restore a little faith in the holiday magic of 2020. And for those of you who prefer to keep Christmas in December…I get it! I envy your ability to get it all done in four weeks — in a good year. This year, I’m not leaving anything to chance!

Are you with me?!

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: Christmas is (still) on December 25th this year! That’s right…not even Covid can cancel Christmas! Are you ready to plan? Have you already started? Or do you prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving? Whatever your preference, get out your calendar and walk yourself through December…especially the holiday weeks. Are there travel arrangements to adjust or cancel, time to request off, difficult conversations to have, lists to start building, or limits that would be better set now? Even if you don’t take action on them…get them down on paper and revisit them when you’re ready. Your December self might just thank you!

And if you want to…join me in the Christmas Project Planner Facebook Group to squeeze every last drop out of the lemon that is 2020!

Spread Happyness — it’s just about two months to Christmas!!! Start planning now!!! 🙂

10/23/20 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com