Holiday blues got you saying, ?Bah humbug?? Sometimes the commercialism, the crowds, and the stress of family expectations can put us in a less than festive mood. To get back in the spirit of the season, seek out heartwarming reminders of the good humanity is capable of doing. Get out the Kleenex, and start clicking!
For some families, department store layaway programs are a godsend?items can be bought at sale prices, then held by the store until the purchasers come up with enough money to pay the tab. Or until an anonymous stranger comes along and plays ?Secret Santa,? paying off the account and leaving behind only smiles. Time magazine reports on the trend.
Sure, we may decry the gotta-have-it mentality That’s drives many of us during the holiday season. But Christmas is also a great way to evaluate our relationship with what we do have already. Lifehack contributor Dustin Wax talks about cleaning house as a way of bringing ?charity and clarity? to the home. It’s geared to families, but there are some good lessons for grown-ups here, too.
It’s legendary, but It’s no urban legend: on Christmas Day, 1914, British and German soldiers in the trenches developed an informal truce to suspend the guns for the day and let peace and goodwill reign. NPR interviews the author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. Another good description of the event is this article.
