5 Changes I'd Make to Christmas

Don't get me wrong. I really do like Christmas. I love the bright, colored lights, the beautiful carols, and the sheer energy of the season. There are, however, five changes that I think would go a long way toward improving the celebration.

First, I'd make sure everyone could open one special gift on Christmas Eve. The recipient would discover, once the beautiful bow had been untied and the shiny paper removed, the gift of TIME. Somehow, two more weeks would be miraculously inserted into the calendar before Christmas day. What a surprise! Think of it! Two more weeks to put the finishing touches on the Christmas dinner table and stash the trash in locations known only to you. Two more weeks to purchase the stocking stuffers you forgot in the rush of acquiring the big things, and two more weeks for the mail-order gifts to arrive. There would be extra time to answer the Christmas cards that just arrived, and to include your neighbors, your postal and newspaper carriers, and shut-in friends in your holiday. There might even be time to attend special Christmas events, to take in all the beautiful displays of lights, and, of all things, to relax.

Second, I would do Christmas cards in January. January is a cold, dreary month when I could pull my chair up to the hearth, sit before a roaring fire, and answer all the Christmas cards and letters I received. That way I could affirm people's travels, new grandchildren, weddings, graduations, promotions, operations, and lottery winnings almost instantly. I'm convinced most people would rather be acknowledged than to hear in our next year's Christmas letter how much the new air filter in the bedroom helped our allergies.

Third, I'd stretch my celebration throughout the whole Advent season. The kids would get to open one gift a week, at each Advent candle lighting. The anticipation would remain high, diminishing the usual overload phenomenon. Think about it. When most little children open their first gift, they want to play with it, experience it, and enjoy it right now. They don't care about the other gifts with their names on them. Those can wait. They want to "do" this one now.

Fourth, I would discourage church pastors, choir directors, and choir members from taking vacations the Sunday after Christmas (or Easter, for that matter). What does it say to occasional attendees when the first string disappears after the highly publicized Christmas Sunday?

Fifth, I would move Christmas to August. There would be fewer icy or foggy roads to travel to Grandma's house, fewer runny noses and sniffles, and fewer folks in bed with the Christmas flu.

I have carefully thought out my plan and I can find only one tiny flaw. If people really knew they would have two extra weeks until Christmas, things would eventually turn out the same as they are now, only then it would be two weeks later.
Paulita