PEONY MAGAZINE Dec. 2016 | Page 10

INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO MAKE TIME

FOR YOURSELF DURING THE HOLIDAYS

I can't speak for everyone, but the second the clock struck 12 on October 31st, all I could see was green and red. Of course I am talking about Christmas! I don't know when it happened but one year everyone forgot about Thanksgiving and we went into Christmas autopilot. I can't say that I am too sad about it because Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday. Let's be honest, if you had to think of your favorite holiday, what would it be? I am guessing it wouldn't be a stretch to say it is Christmas.

Christmas hasn't always been my favorite holiday. I feel like I enjoyed the Fall holidays pretty equally, mostly because Fall is my favorite season. Growing up we spent a lot of time with family, eating amazing food, and of course opening gifts but most of it was compacted into one day of celebration. Now that I have a child and I'm sure anyone with little elves of their own running around the house can see that Christmas is like a marathon. No longer is it a one day event for me it is a month long, sometimes I see the overflow into November, of making a list and checking it twice. The shopping is like strategic ambush of when the lowest prices online are versus what I can buy in store and get some sort of package deal with. As my mom always says, you don't pass up a deal.

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by Vanessa Hodges

10 PEONY MAGAZINE