The Holidays are Here!

 Our house is currently looking like a tornado tore through it as we just wrapped up Small Business Saturday at a craft fair.  The fair wasn't kind to us this year; it was freezing and windy, so foot traffic was smaller than we'd hoped.  Still, it was really lovely to reach out to community members, share stories, talk shop and wish people a wonderful holiday season.  The whole experience left me wanting to decorate my whole house immediately.  Well, maybe after we put all the product and fair stuff away.

Whether you're lighting a menorah, putting up a tree, burning a yule log or pulling out your Kwanzaa candles, chances are good you're up to your eyeballs in holiday preparations.  

Ours is a blended family, so we celebrate both Christmas and Chanukah.  This year the two happen at the same time, providing lots of opportunities for blended fun.  Normally, I don't really like to mix the holidays together, as Chanukah and Christmas have little in common from a religious standpoint. However, we are not a religious family and as I froze my toes off this Saturday, my thoughts kept returning to the themes they do share.  Since my children were small, we've talked about Chanukah as a festival of lights and the main lights we celebrate are each other.  We talk about the importance of being a light to the people around us, supporting each other and spreading kindness, empathy, and joy.  It seems to me this is a theme that goes with Christmas just fine.  

So, as I pull out my little army of Christmas and Chanukah gnomes and line them up together, while listening to my kids play Christmas music (occasionally interrupted by Adam Sandler and Jack Black's Chanukah contributions), my hope for all of you is that joy and kindness find you during this otherwise hectic time of year.