Holiday Hook-Ups: No, Not the Kind You Are Thinking!

Well, here we are.  Thanksgiving has come and gone, you are still full from the meal, and you are finally catching up on sleep from your first time "Black Friday" all nighter and now that nice lady on the radio morning show is telling you it's time to Christmas-Up your house.  

You're kidding right? This time of year creates the full gamut of emotions.  Stress, joy, fear, pain, love. You name it—it will surface.  Anything can trigger a reaction and/or total meltdown. 

In my experience, no one is immune from it.  I know that the darkness which can arise during the holidays can be all consuming.  Especially if you are a Single Mom who feels all alone. I was lucky. I was blessed with such a wonderful Circle of Life who were there for me to lean on and didn't allow me to feel alone once I allowed myself to reach out.

This is where Holiday Hook-Ups come into play.  Meaning, getting all of your friends together weekly or monthly to help each other cope through this time of year.  You can hook up at a local restaurant, a movie theater, bowling alley, rotate going to each others houses, visit a local park—there are countless creative ways just waiting for you to get started. 

For instance, I used to dread the yearly task of preparing the house for its Christmas makeover.  I would spend an entire Saturday or two in the garage sifting through dusty boxes trying to locate the decorations that I had tediously placed there the year before. 

But somehow I was always missing a box or two. Even my boxes of special ornaments purchased on clearence after Christmas, because I was going to try to do a "theme" this time, would mysteriously disappear.  It was crazy. 

After I had finally removed every single box, bag and tote, my garage floor would be a mess and then I'd have to spend another day putting all of the nonholiday boxes back on the shelves.  It was exhausting.  I could never figure out where those missing Christmas boxes went. 

I mean: I didn't use them throughout the year, so where did they go?  I came to accept it just like the sock in the dryer mystery.  Two socks go in, and only one comes out.  C' est la Vie!

Anyway, I finally figured out that this entire ritual would be much more enjoyable not to mention more efficient, if I shared it with my friends.  They all thought it was a great idea, so we alternated spending the day at each other's houses sorting through garages and storage units to find those holiday decorations and goodies. 

It made the whole process much more fun and having friends around sure came in handy when it was time to untangle and test those nasty tree and outdoor lights! We even had decorating parties so tinsel could be thrown and eggnog could be consumed. 

If a couple of us had a weekend where our kids were with their Dads, we would treat ourselves to an afternoon movie or head to the Zoo.  It didn't matter what we did as long as we were doing something. 

It's hard to feel lonely if you are having fun. Another fun hook-up was to bundle up at sundown and pile all of the kids in the car and head to those small neighborhoods who decked their halls, houses, yards and roof tops with elaborate Christmas decor which created small Santa like Villages. 

We would park the cars and walk up and down the streets in awe of the scenery.  It was amazing and all it cost us was the price of gas and it gave us wonderful memories.  Those are just a few of the Holiday hook-ups that worked for me and my friends, but you get the idea. 

It is so funny how when we were children, this time of year was filled with Magic, Hope and Joy.  We eagerly waited all year for this Season to arrive.  But as we got older those feelings changed and were replaced with stress.  It is sad. 

Life is unpredictable and as each year passes we experience love, lessons, and loss in many different ways which leave their footprints on our spirit. Whatever you may be feeling, missing or wishing for this year, try not to forget to remember that Magic, that Hope and that Joy. 

If you look hard enough, you will be able to find them in your life right now.  So please look. Be well and enjoy each day to the fullest.