Like many others, this is my favorite time of year. Challenging  times economically all over the country have people thinking about cutting back and making things simpler. The truth is that we’ve all seemed to get caught up in more activities and the season of Peace on Earth and the birth of Christ get lost in our celebration with more and more stuff.

My husband and I live in a relatively small house and over the past year have shared it with adult children and their family. I like to tell people that we have 5 adults, 1 child, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a partridge in a pear tree. We do actually have a pear tree in our yard although I think it probably has a shivering sparrow rather than a partridge. Our family includes six children so when we all get together we make our own crowd.

I’m finding that health challenges and economic challenges for much of our family make me think more about what really matters. We still have our decorations up. My grandson and I decorated the tree with fewer decorations and utilized natural things. Our crowded living room turned office allowed a small area in one corner for the tree. We could only decorate 1/3 of the tree that peeks out around the book shelves and file cabinets. But, somehow it is one of the prettiest trees we’ve ever had.

At church this past Sunday, our minister spoke about making this the best Christmas ever. He gave the points I’d like to share with you. (1)Don’t over schedule  (2) Don’t over spend  (3) Don’t over expect it can lead to disappointment  (4) Don’t over look the whole point of the season – the birth of Jesus.

I wish you a blessed season and New Year. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah.