The first snowfall of the year always has the ability to warm my heart and relax me. For many people, snow equals stress and bad driving and general misery. Not for me. The beauty of the white flakes falling from the sky and coating the bare branches is a symphony of visual detail and reminds me of the beauty of nature. Just staring at the contrast of the snow against the dark branches puts my mind at ease. I love bundling up in layers or with a blanket and doing a whole lot of nothing, short of maybe drinking a warm cup of tea.
Luckily, while the snow is coming down today I had to take some time to practice my singing for my voice lesson next week and I just happen to be learning some Christmas music right now. Totally put me in the spirit. I could sing it all day long.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas can be such a horribly stressful time for people, and in many respects it is. Insane amounts of shopping, jam packed schedules, and money flying out the door left and right to "celebrate" the season. I often wonder why more people don't take just a minute on a day like today to just stop, listen, and stare at the beauty outside. Just taking those few seconds for mental health can do wonders for your spirit and make everything not seem so bad. The stress literally melts away. With the economic crisis we are facing this holiday season, many families are feeling as though they won't be able to celebrate the holidays "right" because they can't give as much as they want to. Why can't we celebrate the season in simpler ways? Who needs oodles of gifts and food anyway? It makes us greedy and gluttonous. And for me, I know that having that sort of lifestyle growing up taught me that love was found in things and food... neither of which are good for your emotional (or physical) well-being.
In celebration of the first day of snow and the start of the holiday season, I would like to list the "simple" things that help me to celebrate the holidays and truly enjoy the spirit of the season.
Jessica's "Favorite Things" to Celebrate the Season
Luckily, while the snow is coming down today I had to take some time to practice my singing for my voice lesson next week and I just happen to be learning some Christmas music right now. Totally put me in the spirit. I could sing it all day long.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas can be such a horribly stressful time for people, and in many respects it is. Insane amounts of shopping, jam packed schedules, and money flying out the door left and right to "celebrate" the season. I often wonder why more people don't take just a minute on a day like today to just stop, listen, and stare at the beauty outside. Just taking those few seconds for mental health can do wonders for your spirit and make everything not seem so bad. The stress literally melts away. With the economic crisis we are facing this holiday season, many families are feeling as though they won't be able to celebrate the holidays "right" because they can't give as much as they want to. Why can't we celebrate the season in simpler ways? Who needs oodles of gifts and food anyway? It makes us greedy and gluttonous. And for me, I know that having that sort of lifestyle growing up taught me that love was found in things and food... neither of which are good for your emotional (or physical) well-being.
In celebration of the first day of snow and the start of the holiday season, I would like to list the "simple" things that help me to celebrate the holidays and truly enjoy the spirit of the season.
Jessica's "Favorite Things" to Celebrate the Season
- Snow. Lots of it, pure white and frosting the tree branches like a slice of cake.
- Christmas CDs. In particular: A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, George Winston's December, A Very Special Christmas, and my Bradley University Chorale Christmas (circa 2001, with all of my friends from college singing some of the best holiday music ever).
- Lights on houses.
- Sharing meals with friends and families.
- Blankets and warm fuzzy sweaters.
- Hot tea or a warm cup of coffee on a cold day.
- Christmas movies. Whether is be one from the theatres or on the TV (Lifetime original) I'm a sucker.
- Singing Christmas songs with friends, at church, or wherever.
- Sharing recipes for cookies or side dishes or anything in general. Finding new ways to make the holiday special through food is always fun! You can reinvent your holiday every year, or just dream of reinventing it and using those ideas from other recipes to alter your traditional recipes.
- Decorating or looking at Christmas trees.
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