Thanksgiving is officially behind us, and many women may find the season of gratitude has been quickly overwhelmed by the season of busyness.
Undoubtedly, the holiday season can feel complicated. Parties, presents, and twinkling lights make the season magical, but can also overwhelm the to-do list. Modern expectations for holiday decor and gift-giving may dwarf previous eras and make us long for simpler times, but we still have many reasons to be thankful.
Holiday movies like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Jingle All the Way” increasingly seem outdated, since the days of parents scrambling to get the few hot items stocked on the toy store shelves are a relic. Online shopping means busy parents can tick through a Christmas list in minutes and get same-day delivery, often at almost no cost.
Woman online shopping on smart phone fashion clothes at home
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Getting up and out the Christmas decor can be labor-intensive, but it sure can be impressive. Decades ago, households used incandescent light bulbs, but usually had just a few strands. Today’s LED lights reduce demand for electricity by about 80% while improving safety, causing Christmas tree fire accidents to plummet in recent decades. As a result, the prevalence and number of Christmas lights used today has skyrocketed. About two-thirds of homeowners plan to put lights up for the holidays. Where families once had to travel to view lighting displays, now you are highly likely to find one within driving distance from your house.
Travel and communication technologies are light years ahead of prior generations, allowing us to meet and connect virtually with family and friends around the globe. Airline tickets and various land travel methods, as well as websites and apps to buy discounted travel, are far more accessible to everyday Americans than in years past. These were luxuries previously only enjoyed by America’s elites. Long-distance phone calls used to be so expensive that families used to strictly limit their use. Today, cell phones, WhatsApp, Zooms, and other virtual methods enable us to see and speak with loved ones far away—essentially anytime at no marginal cost.
Holiday cooking and baking traditions have also evolved. Rather than depending on trusted recipes handed down from grandma, bakers today can also access limitless alternative recipes on social media. Instagram photos may suggest that these are all incredibly complex and impressive recipes, but lots include hacks that make cooking easier and more rewarding. Parents can search online to find a wide variety of baking and other crafting projects appropriate to their kids’ exact ages and only make use of what’s already in the house.
Happy African American mother and daughter laughing and having fun while spending Christmas together at home.
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It’s easy to lament how commercial holidays, especially Christmas, have become and worry that—like too much of the rest of life—it ends up revolving around heavy screen use. Yet those screens can also help keep the focus of the season on the birth of Christ. There are numerous apps offering Christ-centered Advent devotionals and entertainment to refocus attention on the biblical roots of the holiday. Streaming services can now customize your playlist, so rather than just generic or secular “holiday favorites” you can fine-tune for those with a purely religious message.
Nostalgia for bygone eras may be inevitable, especially around family-centered holidays when we are particularly aware of generations of loved ones no longer with us. Yet there is nothing about the current era that dooms us to shallow holidays and gatherings. We have more tools around us than ever to make holiday accoutrements rewarding and less taxing, rather than more. That means if we are intentional about it, we can actually devote ourselves to appreciating time with family and loved ones as well as Christmas’s real message of love, sacrifice and the undeserved gift of grace.