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Community Corner

In Woodbury, Handling the Mayan Apocalypse and Other Holiday Headaches

As you iron the tablecloth, polish the silver or wrap Martha Stewart-style bows around your gifts, remind yourself why you're doing these things.

The apocalypse approaches... according to the Mayan calendar, millions of knuckleheads posting on Twitter and a slew of loopy Russians.

But if something disastrous this way comes, it’s more likely associated with relatives than Mayans. And doomsday might sound eerily like the doorbell ringing in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

If a holiday family gathering is your idea of judgment day, I’ve got some advice for you: Dos and Don’ts for family holiday interaction.

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Do…

Have a sense of humor. Mistakes are funny. People are funny. Forgetting to get cousin Carol a gift so that you have to wrap up your favorite Christmas tree ornament, the Muppets Swedish Chef that talks when you push the button, so that everybody gets a laugh, is funny.

Forgetting to buy enough booze necessary to make hot, spiced Christmas wine is not funny. Do not forget the wine.

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Do…

Forgive. Holding a grudge or punishing people with your passive aggressive nonsense ultimately makes you more miserable than anyone else.

Staying angry won’t make you feel better. Realizing that you’re not perfect and not expecting others to be perfect is freeing. Be free this Christmas and set others free too by forgiving them for being themselves, flaws and all.

Don’t give power to negative thoughts. We can’t help those snarky comments that pop into our minds or how irritated we can become with certain people. But we are called to love others.

And when we speak forth negativity—even when in private while locked in the pantry binging on frosted angel cookies to get us through—those spiteful, hateful words are given negative power.

I challenge you to think of something affirming to say about each person in your home and repeat it aloud whenever possible.

Don’t…

Be a martyr. Entertaining doesn’t come easy for everyone.

If you don’t enjoy baking cookies or honey-glazing a ham, don’t do it. Attempting to fulfill your vision of holiday perfection will just bring everybody down. Nobody is obligated to help you in the kitchen or to eat the candied spinach casserole you slaved over.

All of the seemingly silly little things we do at Christmastime should be done in an attempt to bless others.

If heating frozen pizzas and gift-wrapping your presents inside those stainless steel pots that you never cook with anyway helps you have a happier holiday, I say, why not? Guests will remember the relaxed togetherness of belly laughs had, board games played, puzzles put together, family stories shared and Christmas movies watched.

I’d rather eat pizza then listen to a cook moan and groan about how hard they worked to make my meal.

Do…

Seek to bless rather than impress. Get into a right mindset when preparing for company.

As you iron the tablecloth, polish the silver or wrap Martha Stewart-style bows around your gifts, remind yourself why you’re doing these things. It should never be because you’re trying to out-perform whomever hosted last year’s Christmas dinner.

All of the seemingly silly little things we do at Christmastime should be done in an attempt to bless others. That people might feel loved as God loves them. You know, love, the reason he sent His only Son that first Christmas morning?

 

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