December’s mad rush
The winter solstice is almost upon us, which means two things: the days are shorter, and they're more packed than ever. I don't know how December does it. My social and work calendars are never fuller, and that includes the height of summer when we're flowering events, running subscriptions, and showing up to market every week. On top of all the year end meetings, the Christmas parties and parades, there's the conundrum of gift giving. It starts to feel like too much, and I have to resist the urge to run and hide until it's all over.
I've tried that method in the past. Turns out the only thing more stressful for me than buying gifts in the busy season is buying gifts last minute in the busy season after I've realized that there's no way out of participating and I actually maybe secretly do want to be part of it. Well, it might be worse to start panicking about it in August and spin my wheels for four months until I'm shopping last minute anyway. I've tried that too.
This year I'm aiming for a happy medium. It helps that my spouse is an excellent gift giver who is able to plan months in advance without working himself into a frenzy of analysis paralysis. As he is the main homemaker now while I work full time, this year it fell to him to spearhead the holiday efforts, which he is doing admirably. He does the creative thinking, and I putz about making snowflakes out of scrap paper and wreaths of dried flowers.
I did get a few gifts this year, but I've simplified it for myself: I am the book giver. Getting books on birthdays and holidays as a kid was such a delight for me. I love books, and it brings me pleasure to think of my reading through the year as covert research. In a way, making this decision is the happy medium: I'm giving myself permission to think about holiday gifts all year 'round, and it's one-stop-shopping when the time comes. I get to support my local bookstore (hey Atlas Books!). My only decision fatigue comes from deciding who gets which masterpiece.
FYI I also did this for potlucks. I've decided I bring fruit. It's a broad enough category that I can be playful with it, yet enough restriction that I don't have to think about it. I can aim for seasonality, though sometimes conventionality wins out. There's room to improve despite limiting boundaries, in other words.
If you're having analysis paralysis about holiday gifts this year and you're not a book person, may I suggest flowers? We have gift certificates available for those who wish to gift a Flower Girl subscription to their loved one. Even if you're reading this from too far away to receive our subscriptions, you can check LocalFlowers.org to see who in your area is growing and selling flowers. There are so many small flower farmers across the United States these days, and I bet any one of them would appreciate your support. Plus there's the added bonus of the flowers' end life-- straight to the compost and back to earth. You can't do that with plastic baubles from the drug store, a consideration too easy to overlook when we're stressed and shopping just to tick off a name on a list.
I hope you find your ease in this season of rush. What are your systems for getting through the holidays? I'm always curious about how others manage the restrictions of their particular lives and habits. Whatever your methods, I hope it includes plenty of rest. Taking a nap on a dreary dark December day is perhaps the greatest gift of all.
Keep cozy,
Meg