Christmas is coming, again.

Christmas is coming again. Like it does every year. And I'm struggling with Christmas, again. It's still a month and a half away, but I'm already getting cranky and wishing it was over. I'm already trying to figure out if there's some reasonable way to skip it without anyone minding. I'm already feeling stressed, frustrated, even angry.

I met a woman at the grocery store a while back who doesn't celebrate Christmas. She and her children celebrate Winter Solstice together, and every year they exchange homemade gifts. For months abead of time, they plan and gather supplies, and they start building or carving or gluing or sewing something special for each person in their family. And I just thought that was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard.

That family's celebration doesn't involve writing wish lists or agreeing on a price range, finding Black Friday deals or fighting the crowds at the mall. Their Winter Solstice celebration is all about giving love and time, investing some thought and creativity, all to say, I love you.

Can you imagine knowing each member of your family well enough that you could think of something personal and meaningful to give them, something that wasn't picked from the list they wrote and gave to you? Maybe some people are that close to their parents and siblings, and it's  easy to pick out meaningful gifts, but my guess is most of the time we aren't and we can't. Can you imagine spending the kind of time that it would take to carve a walking stick, or knit a blanket or write a touching poem for each person you loved? 

Do the gifts we buy that were picked out from the lists we were given, tell the people in our family that we love them? Do they actually mean anything at all, or do they merely fulfill the obligation and. continue the tradition? 

What can we do instead, or what do you already do instead? Obviously, not all of us are going to have the skills it takes to make homemade gifts for everyone like my friend and her family. But what can we do with our families that makes Christmas more meaningful and magical? What can we do to fill Christmas day with love and joy?