When I was a kid, Christmas was simply magical.
Christmas Eve always started with dancing. My mom would play Christmas music of the day by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and haul us up one by one to be her partner, my dad taking our place when we decided we’d had enough. We would snack on all the baking Mom had been so busy preparing in the weeks before, the cheese straws and the little sausage rolls that melted in our mouths.
We would sit in the light of the tree that was almost hidden behind the presents for 10+ family members. Later on we would curl up and watch A Christmas Carol on tv, waiting patiently for the news to come on during a commercial and tell us that Santa had been spotted somewhere in the world.
Crawling into bed, even though my eyes were half closed by then, it was so hard to fall asleep. In the room I shared with my next oldest sister, the questions were plenty between us “Did you hear that? Do you think it was Santa on the roof? Do you think you will get what you asked Santa for?”
I was usually the first one up in the morning and would eagerly wake up my siblings, not always the wisest choice but being the youngest came with benefits. We were never allowed to go downstairs until my mom and dad gave us the all ok, and when we did it was an incredible scene that will be forever etched in my brain.
The Christmas lights were all turned on, the fireplace was lit and crackling already, and the coffee was made for the adults. Christmas music played quietly in the background. The juice was poured and the croissants with English jam were on a platter waiting for us to devour. And since Santa had indeed arrived while we slept, that tree was definitely now hidden.
Those holidays left me feeling so many juicy feelings. I felt warm-hearted, loved, generous, grateful and so closely connected to the meaning of family.
Since having a family of my own, even though some of my childhood traditions grew to include my hubby’s and grew again as my daughters and their families made their own, my Christmas goal has always been to feel what I felt as a kid.
As long as I stay focused on myself and how I want to feel, everything falls into place. There is an emphasis on “myself”, even during the holidays when we are all about the people we love. We can’t create feeling for others, they need to decide what they want to feel on their own.
But when we create our experiences from how we want to feel at Christmas, we are choosing experiences that bring us joy. And when we have joy, there is boundless energy, love, gratitude, heart-felt actions, and even surrender and acceptance. And there is no greater gift to give to others. Or ourselves.
Honestly, there were Christmases past when I didn’t have the awareness that I do now, and ended up feeling a bit more like Clark W Griswold than what I wanted to feel like. I can look back now and be grateful for that learning and move forward taking different actions to feel what I have always wanted to feel.
Feeling the way we want to feel is a choice. Ya, I know sometimes it doesn’t seem like that, but it really is. And once we begin to recognize our own power to create the experiences that bring us joy, we soar.
If there is a trick to having the best holiday season ever, this is it.
Decide how you want to feel and choose actions that leave you with those feelings. When you have the feelings that bring you joy, every single person around you will notice and be gifted some of that joy too.
And since things are not real until they are said out loud, hit reply and tell me 3 ways you want to feel this season. Just three things, without judgement or reasons why you can’t.
Whatever holiday you celebrate during this season, I wish you simple joy.
And btw, no pigs are harmed in our now vegan version of sausage rolls.
Much love and warm hearts…
Dianna xo
