SOMWaD: Lessons Learned and Thoughts This Holiday Season

You're never too old to learn.  As I inch my way towards the half century mark (can't believe I'm admitting that), I've learned quite a few things over this holiday "season"  

1. No matter what the retail stores may tell you, the holiday season doesn't start until after you've had your main meal on Thanksgiving and ends on Epiphany.  (That's January 6 this year...and the year is now 2016...that is if I've managed to work this scheduling thing right.)  You can keep on celebrating up till then.  (Even if the shops have already pulled out the Valentine's Day goodies BEFORE Christmas has arrived.  This is the ultimate truth...I was in a store the week of Christmas and while the Christmas goodies were still out, Valentine's Day candy was stacking up right next to it.  In the world of Bfth, Valentine's goodies should not hit the shelves until after Epiphany.)
2. You really DO need to have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas off in order to get everything you need to get done, get done!  I realize the days are shorter in December (or at least the daylight hours are), but I didn't realize how quickly time speeds up during those days.  Whoosh and an hour or two has passed.  You need more time than you think.
3. Christmas Eve church services should be about the kids.  Quiet services are out the window.  You've got kids hopped up on sugar and Santa.  No way are they going to sit still.  Move the service along, ignore the noise and bask in the glow of the excitement.
4. Hitler should not be mentioned in any way, shape or form.  Seriously!  Even as an analogy for something else.  No comparing Herod to Hitler.  No comparing Hitler to Herod.       
5. If you're going to lead a Christmas Eve Service, don't go it alone.  No man (or woman) can get through all the lessons by him/herself unless he/she wants to end up coughing none-stop during the last lesson.  No amount of water or cough drops will help.  Make sure you have a partner even if he or she only does one or two readings.  Trust me on this.
6. Melting wax hurts.  You're going to have to deal with it...especially if you're holding a lit candle for more than 5 seconds.  Grit your teeth and bare it.  No matter how many verses of "Silent Night" you have to sing, you'll get through it.
7. Presentation is EVERYTHING for a child when they come down the stairs Christmas morning.  If your presentation sucks, the kid WILL notice.  Melt down will most likely occur.  Wrap everything!  (Yes, even the batteries it makes for better presentation under the tree.  Heck, wrap each battery individually and the kid will think he's getting a boatload of presents.)
8. There will be a melt down by someone during the holidays.  It may not be a child; it may be you.  Go with it.  Don't get angry.  Comfort the meltee and move on.  It will be forgotten before the holiday is over.
9. No white Christmas?  Take advantage of the warm weather.  What's wrong with a bunch of kids running around outside in their PJs on Christmas day when it's in the upper 60s?
10. Always wear an apron.  Have lots of oven mitts and pot holders.  You can never have enough.  They will mysteriously disappear and then magically reappear years later behind the stove even though you looked there a dozen times.
11. Cranberry wine goes well with ham.  (Especially if you have a cranberry glazed ham.  You want the recipe...just let me know...I'd be happy to give it out for a bottle of cranberry wine.)
12. Your sanitation workers (garbage men) work hard all year long.  The work especially hard over the holidays.  (Think of all the extra trash you create.)  Be good to them.  If you can't tip, at least give a smile and a thank you.  (A little appreciation ALWAYS goes a long way).
13. If you end up sick or needing medical attention during the holiday season, don't gripe about the wait to see the doctor.  Think of how lucky you are that you there getting medical attention.  Say thank you.
14. If you need to go shopping or to the mall AFTER the holidays, go early in the day if you can.  It may be a pain to get up extra early on your day(s) off, but dealing with the crowds later, trust me it is worth it to get up and get moving.  And while you're there, be pleasant to the staff.  Remember they had to get up even earlier than you.
15. You're going to have to buy your own underwear. (http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/somwad-all-i-want-for-christmas-is.html)
16. Your family will annoy you.  But it's the holidays and you've got family.  Embrace them.  Laugh with them.  These are the memories that you will cherish.
17. You don't have to go to Times Square to have a great time on New Year's Eve.  You don't even have to stay up till midnight to celebrate.  Once you hit December 31st, go with whatever time you want and wish everyone a happy new year.  No one is going to be unhappy that you did.
18. Start your New Year's Resolutions on the 2nd of January (or maybe even the 4th since the New Year starts on a Friday and there are bound to be more parties and gatherings over the weekend.)  There are brunches and open house parties to start the new year off...enjoy them and then get down to it.
19. It's a New Year.  It's time for whatever new beginnings you want.  Not what someone else wants but what YOU want.
20. Welcome to 2016...a year that's going to be so good that we've got an extra day (February 29) to enjoy it.