33: The Weary World Rejoices!

The Gift of Love: A Christmas Wrap-Up

A little wrap-up before moving into new-year topics, starting with a practical tip that’s been owed for a while: a friend and fellow organizer fills small wine gift bags with each person’s stocking stuffers ahead of time, since the size is nearly perfect for sliding right down into a stocking. It solves the classic problem of overfilling and then realizing everything doesn’t quite fit. Handy for anyone whose stocking gifts run mostly practical, toothpaste, deodorant, an orange in the toe, and one small treat, rather than elaborate.

Christmas isn’t easy for everyone

It’s worth naming honestly that the holidays aren’t sunshine and rainbows for everyone, especially after a stretch of years that brought real loss and grief to so many people. This podcast isn’t the place to unpack all of that, partly because there’s no single right way to hold it, and partly because the hope is that this space offers something lighter, maybe even a bit of an escape, for anyone who needs it. Still, it felt important to acknowledge that weariness is real for a lot of people this time of year, even while there’s room to rejoice alongside it.

An ornament that isn’t really an ornament

Years ago, teaching fourth grade at a school where families had very little to spare, one student, without the means for anything store-bought, brought in a small knitted stocking she’d clearly worked hard on, along with a handwritten card. Tucked inside was the head of a porcelain doll, one side of its hat pink, the other green, no body attached. It became, without question, the most meaningful gift received that year, because it was given entirely out of love, with nothing left over to spare.

That ornament still goes on the tree every year. The neck is hollow enough to slide onto a branch, and each year, hanging it is a quiet, private moment set aside just to remember what the season is actually about. Not the perfectly wrapped gifts, not whether the right amount was spent, not whether the meal came together exactly right. Just love, and the choice to notice it.

A gentle invitation

If this year has been done as well as it could be done, that’s worth resting in, weariness and all. There’s likely a version of this somewhere in your own life too, a small, unassuming object or moment that quietly holds the whole meaning of the season if you let it. Maybe it’s worth finding, or making, a little space to notice it this year.

Until next time, continue to choose joy.