Holiday Excesses— Go Ahead, Indulge!...

December 2006

Ah, Christmas. That time of year when “excess” means “almost, but not quite enough.”

Excess is the order of the day during the Christmas season. Even the length of the season itself has become excessive, with Christmas garlands and trees taking a stand right next to Halloween jack-o-lanterns and Thanksgiving turkeys. A celebration which once took place over a number of days (“The Twelve Days of Christmas” actually meant that the season lasted twelve days!) has now commandeered a period of weeks, if not months, on the calendar.

Advertisements assault us from all directions, warning us, beginning in October, that “The Holidays Are Coming!” as though in order to make it through, we should amass and then expend all of our resources and reserves immediately, in order to execute the attack of “shock and awe” which will enable us to proclaim victory over yet another holiday season.

And every year, though I swear I will not succumb to the dire predictions that if I don’t shop early and often, the entire undertaking will be a dismal failure, cave I do, buying and spending and picking up “just a few more things” until there is nothing left – of my money, my energy, or my Christmas spirit.

I can’t completely blame the marketing mavens for doing their jobs so well that by the time Christmas actually gets here, I’m sick of the whole enterprise. Truth be told, I’m really a sucker for all things glittery and shiny. And what better time of year to indulge such an obsession than the season of “silver and gold?”

When the first cold snap hits, I am seduced and ready to turn my home into a winter wonderland. Though I force myself to wait until after Thanksgiving to haul out the decorations, in actuality, visions of sugarplums, tinsel, twinkle lights, and stuffed Santas and snowmen have been dancing in my head for weeks. By the time I am through, Clark Griswold would be cowed by my decorating prowess (as well as by my electric bill). Nor can I forget the culinary excesses the season inspires. Parties, special meals, and let’s not forget those infernal Christmas cookies, all conspire by the end of the holidays to leave revelers (and by that I mean me) feeling sluggish, slothful, overweight, and cranky.

Lumped together, seasonal excesses frequently find me channeling Ebenezer Scrooge before his miraculous conversion, or the Grinch before his “small heart grew three sizes that day.” You get the idea. So, in order to put some “ho, ho, ho” back into the proceedings, I’ve decided to harness the seasonal freedom from restraint to indulge in one significant excess, which might actually serve to fan the flame of Christmas spirit, and keep it going all year long. This season, I will excessively cultivate generosity, in all of its many forms.

I will be generous with my time, recognizing that though it appears I have little of it to spare, small moments of kindness towards those I love and those I don’t even know can make a difference in a day—perhaps a small, but still significant difference. I will be generous with my speech, aware that too often, a harsh word can cause a hurt which lasts far longer than the time it took me to utter it.

I will be generous with my resources, both monetary and intangible, knowing that I am generously blessed and can well afford to generously share.

So, enjoy this excessive season, regardless of your religious beliefs. And while you’re at it, spread a little excess generosity. It’s one holiday tradition we can’t possibly have too much of.