It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Walk into a retail establishment of any kind right now and you’re bound to hear the fabulous Andy Williams crooning, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
To most of the kids I grew up with, that meant looking forward to winter break, hanging up stockings, decorating the tree, driving around to see all the lights, visiting Santa, and leaving milk and cookies out for him on Christmas Eve.
And while Santa was making his list and checking it twice, so were they as they wished for a new bike or doll or stuffed animal or other hard-to-get-toy-of-the-moment.
Focused on the promise of a bountiful Christmas Day, they would turn down the corners of dozens and dozens of pages in the Sears “Christmas Wish Book” which was loaded with all kinds of possibilities.
While we who celebrated Chanukah also looked forward to our holiday with anticipation, our rituals of potato latkes, lighting the menorah, and opening one present a night paled in comparison to the festivities that took place at our friends’ houses.
In fact, though envious that our holiday lasted eight days and theirs only one, they failed to realize that their one-day hauls absolutely dwarfed the gifts we’d receive over the course of a week (do socks actually count as a “gift”?).
Clearly, for kids, the focus was—and still is, it seems—more on the “receiving” side of the equation, rather than on the “giving.”
This year, however, as I began hearing Andy Williams’ voice once again (and FAR too early, if you ask me), it occurred to me that this continues to be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but for a different reason:
Despite all the frenzy and busyness and rush to “slow down” and smell the cocoa, the atmosphere seems lighter. Warmer. Friendlier. More joyful. And more hopeful.
Perhaps that’s because one of the gifts of older age is the understanding that what we GIVE means so much more than what we receive.
The truth is even though we’re bombarded by messaging that revolves around our holiday wish lists, it’s when we GIVE that we feel the true spirit of the season, regardless of which holiday(s) we celebrate.
And the beauty of giving is that A) it’s relatively easy, B) doesn’t have to cost a penny, C) doesn’t need to take much time, and D) MAKES US FEEL GOOD.
So while you’re out and about this holiday season, here are a few gifts you can give to help amp up your holidays:
Smile at passers-by. Say hello. Acknowledge the folks that often feel invisible with a heartfelt thank you. Hold the door open for someone behind you. Offer to roll someone’s shopping cart back for them. Shovel a neighbor’s walk. Let the car in front of you merge into traffic.
You’d be surprised at how much these simple acts of kindness can mean to those around us.
They’re more than courtesies. They CONNECT US.
To our better selves. And to each other.
And they help us ensure that this truly is “THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.”
For all of us.