Holiday Cheered- Party of One!

I must confess, I stole this blog post title from a friend of mine, Kelsey (I would link to her webpage if I could but the page doesn't seem to be loading properly, so I'm just giving written credit instead.)

Onward!!

I got an early start on the holidays this year, because I refuse to be bah-humbuggy this Christmas. I don't know how familiar you are with our family, but this is the 3rd year in a row that we're strapped for cashola. (Shout out, all you small business owners out there!) And, last year, Brian's appendix exploded on December 16, so, you know, the ICU put a damper on things...

This year, I refused to not buy gifts. I refused to not be in the Christmas spirit. I refused to procrastinate so long that buying a gifts took a really large chunk of one month's budget. I got started early, and bought my first gifts in October!! (I know some of you holiday whizzes out there are usually DONE by October, but for a gal who runs out to purchase a last minute gift after Christmas Eve service on December 24, this was a HUGE improvement.)

So, by spreading gift purchases out, we've been able to buy a (very small) something for everyone on our list. It required planning and forethought. But you know what? It put me in the holiday mood! Every time I purchased something, I immediately came home and wrapped it. Wrapped gifts littered the top of my closet until the tree went up (the day after Thanksgiving- thanks, Mommy!!)



Aside from the tree, I also decorated our dining room table. I feel very grown up to have a dining room table to decorate... Brian thought everything looked so good that we should throw a holiday open house, but I'm not 40 yet, so I don't think that a "Holiday Open House" should be allowed....



But I digress... Are you "cheered" this year? What would you have to do to get that way? Sure, I know there are some challenges that you're facing that might make the holidays difficult. Can I say this without sounding tacky?? Everyone has challenges. Ours is financial right now, but it's a personal decision I've made to NOT let that get in the way of celebrating my Savior's birth this season. Make a decision for yourself (because you can't control anyone else!) to be cheered, right now. Merry Christmas!!