Once in awhile, I feel like circumstances require me to make some comment about current events. Christmas this year is weird. There’s no denying that. This year has been dominated by the Coronavirus Pandemic, an event unforeseen at this time last year. In fact, the very first book post I made when this year began focused on the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, and I didn’t do it on purpose. I just happened to be reading Charlotte Sometimes around Christmas last year because it was a book many people said was good, and I’d been meaning to get around to reading it. I didn’t know on New Year’s Day 2020 that it was going to turn out to be weirdly appropriate.

So, everyone’s lives this year have been affected by the current pandemic. Many people aren’t going to spending Christmas like they did last year. Not everyone can travel to visit relatives, and some people, sadly, will be missing people who were with them last year. It’s okay to be sad about it. Circumstances aren’t good, and it’s okay to have feelings about it. It’s okay to be sad or angry and get those feelings out. Christmas tends to bring out strong feelings even in ordinary years because it’s the last major holiday before the New Year. It’s an event that not only marks a major Christian event, but also kind of caps off the year. It’s a time when people take a pause, and when people pause, they also tend to think. They think about what’s happened during the last year, where they are in their lives, where they expected to be, and what they expect or hope for during the next year. When I was in high school, a teacher warned us that it’s normal for some people to get depressed around this time of year, even though it’s usually considered a happy time. There are different reasons for that. Sometimes, it’s partly the weather, if you live in a place that gets dark and snowy around this time of year, but quite often, it’s about personal expectations. We all have expectations about our lives and how we think events are going to go, and it’s disappointing and sometimes frightening when things don’t go according to plan. Some people feel like they’ve failed when things in life don’t work out the way they wanted them to, and that’s depressing. They feel like they should have been able to control things better in the year leading up to Christmas and have the expectation that Christmas should be this perfect day where everything goes smoothly and everybody is perfectly happy. But, that’s not really how life goes, and not everything in life can be helped. Everyone encounters circumstances beyond their control that occasionally derail their plans, and that’s okay because it’s human, and that’s something that’s at the heart of the Christmas story, too.

For those who believe in the Christmas story, Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn for his parents to sleep in. There was literally nowhere else to go for them but the street, and the stable was a step up from that because it at least had some straw to lie on instead of the hard ground. It looks cute in nativity scenes with all the animals around, but anybody who’s been in a real stable or barn knows that they are smelly. Stables are for animals to live in, and animals poop. That’s one of the reasons why barns and stables have straw on the floor, to make it easier to clean up the animal poop and pee as well as providing animal bedding. In nativity scenes, Mary typically looks unusually clean in white and blue robes for someone who just gave birth while lying in a pile of straw. In real life, straw probably would have gotten all over her clothes and into her hair. This wasn’t a hygienic maternity ward with clean white sheets and soft pillows. It was a glorious event, but far from “perfect”, and even calling it “ideal” would be stretching it a little. It was what it needed to be for the people involved and the circumstances they were in. This is a story about people making something wonderful happen because they were doing the best they could with what they had in difficult circumstances. In a way, that’s part of what’s compelling about this story. If it had been a normal birth where everything went as one would expect, with no complications or unusual circumstances, it wouldn’t be special, would it? Everything about this story centers on the fact that this birth was unusual, not anything anybody would have expected. It was all surprising, from a prophetic star overhead to angels telling shepherds about the birth to wise men showing up with gifts to a homicidal king who starts looking for the baby, forcing the family to flee, to who this baby turned out to be. Nothing about this situation was normal. If it had been, we probably wouldn’t have a major holiday to celebrate it, and it wouldn’t be a story worth telling.

By the way, that’s my grandmother’s old Nativity set in the picture, and if you look at it closely, it’s also far from perfect. That picture isn’t the greatest, but also the figures are a mixture of pieces from different sets that my grandmother probably bought on sale or at a garage sale because she did things like that. You can kind of tell that it’s not just one set from the different styles of the figures and the bases that don’t match each other. Some are stamped “Made in Japan” and some are labeled “Made in West Germany.” Yep, West Germany. Some of the figures are broken. The guy in the back on the left is missing a hand, and some of the animals have to lean on something to keep from falling over. The angels aren’t in the picture, but they’re on top of the box that contains the scene, and one of them is missing a wing. We still use this set every year because we’ve had it for years and are attached to the pieces, even the broken ones. It’s possible to love something that isn’t perfect.

There are all kinds of expectations, and the type that really makes Christmas special is the expectation not that things will be perfect but that we will be pleasantly surprised by what happens. Pleasant surprises come when circumstances aren’t perfect, but good things still happen, and we have something to celebrate anyway. This is true even in the middle of a pandemic. So, forget what this year and this holiday were “supposed” to be! A lot of things have happened this year that nobody wanted (no matter what the conspiracy theorists say). It’s been hard for everyone, but there is some comfort in realizing that, no matter what you’ve been through this year, there are people around the entire world who have been going through the same thing with you every step of the way. You’re far from alone, and during this last week of the weirdest year of our lives, there are still some things to be glad about and some time to arrange a few last-minute treats for yourself and some nice surprises for other people.

Remember the Little Things

Life is in the details, and even in the midst of every insane thing that’s happened this year, there are still some little things that have gone right. Did you learn something new this year? Revive an old hobby during quarantine? Reconnected with an old friend online? Take care of some things you’ve been meaning to do but just never got around to doing until you just couldn’t get out to doing anything else? If you did, celebrate it! If you didn’t, you’ve still got about a week to do whatever it is you want to do before the year ends and then celebrate it!

Since my family started quarantining, I’ve gotten used to Zoom (which I’d been meaning to learn how to use and this year, I really had to). I managed to complete an internship remotely, and I’ve finished my final class to get the degrees I wanted. My dog has finally let my brother pet her because he’s been around more, and she’s finally started to trust him more. These are things that make a difference to me, and if you think about it, there may be things that you did that have changed your life for the better while you were worrying about larger events. Even just managing your life through a major pandemic is an accomplishment by itself. Think about the positive things you’ve done, big and small. Maybe write them down so you can see them and remind yourself of the good you’ve done.

I can’t say that I accomplished everything I wanted to do this year … or, even half of it. But, that happens every year. I just roll over all my uncompleted projects to the next one and add some more as the year goes on. It’s routine. It doesn’t matter how long I live, I’m the kind of person who thinks of more to do than I’m ever going to find time to do, and I’m used to that. As the year comes to a close, take a little time to appreciate the things you have done instead of brooding about what you didn’t or couldn’t. There is satisfaction in knowing that you’ve done things and taken care of what you needed to do. If, like me, your to do list is never-ending, then take a moment to appreciate being an ideas person with a constant supply of interesting projects and that you’ll never lack for direction in your life.

Celebrate an Old Tradition or Start a New One

Traditions can be a source of comfort, even if you’re not sharing them with the people you normally would. Traditions connect people with the past and the people who have shared those traditions before. They also remind us that there have been other Christmases before, and there will be more to come. This is just one year out of many. Whatever your situation is/was this year, it will probably be different by this time next year. Take comfort in that, and take some time do the things that you’ve enjoyed doing on Christmases before.

Watch some of the movies that you’ve liked on Christmases past, or if you’re just not feeling it this year, try something different. A simple Google search will show you just how many Christmas-themed movies there are to choose from. You don’t even have to watch something Christmas-specific, if you don’t feel like it. If it would make you happier to watch Star Wars tomorrow, do that instead. (I’d rather watch that than It’s a Wonderful Life any Christmas. Even though it has a happy ending, I find it wrenching to go through to get there.)

Most of my blog is about books, specifically nostalgic ones. Revisit some childhood favorites, or check out some of the ones I’ve reviewed! Most of the ones I’ve reviewed are also available online through Internet Archive, so if you don’t have them, you can get them with a couple of mouse clicks. (Internet Archive requires you to sign up to borrow books online and read them in your browser, but it doesn’t cost any money, and you might also find some old favorites there that I don’t know about yet.) Read them with your kids or just by yourself to relive the nostalgia!

Favorite books from Christmases past (plus more on my list of Christmas books):

Merry Christmas from Eddie (1986)

The adventures of a group of neighborhood children, leading up to Christmas. This are just calm, slice-of-life adventures that make nice bedtime reading, like the one about Eddie’s cookie mix-up and the time he played Santa for his family and how a toy horse became a zebra in the school’s toy drive.  One of the Betsy and Eddie books by Haywood.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Herdmans, the worst kids in town, unexpectedly show up at Sunday school (mostly to raid the snacks) and become interested in the Christmas pageant.  What will happen when the Herdmans decide that they want the starring roles?  Part of The Herdmans Series. This humorous book brings up what I mentioned earlier about the situation in the First Christmas not being perfect, and there’s also a movie version.

Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia

Amelia helps Mr. and Mrs. Rogers get ready for Christmas while they go to pick up Aunt Myra, who will be spending the holiday with them. As in all of her books, Amelia goes through her to do list taking absolutely everything literally, from “trimming the tree” by clipping its branches to “stuffing the stockings” with the same kind of stuffing that she would use to stuff a turkey.  Part of the Amelia Bedelia Series.

The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree (1985)

The chipmunk children are disappointed because Santa has trouble finding their house among the other trees in the forest, so the animals decide to turn their home into a big, decorated Christmas tree.  A Little Golden Book.

The Nutcracker (1816, 1987)

A young girl receives a magical nutcracker for Christmas and learns how to break the spell that has changed him from a human prince. By E.T.A. Hoffmann, retold by Anthea Bell.

The Polar Express (1985)

A boy rides a magical train on Christmas Eve and goes to the North Pole to meet Santa and receive the first gift of Christmas.

Starlight in Tourrone

Children in a small village in France revive an old Christmas tradition that brings life back to their town.

Christmas Around the World

This book explains Christmas customs in various countries around the world. I’ve read it and reread it around Christmas since I was a kid! If you like this book, I also recommend the Anglophenia YouTube video about Christmas in Britain.

Some other books that I haven’t reviewed yet on my blog are:

The Night Before Christmas

A picture book of the famous poem with beautiful pictures and some historical information about the poem in the back.

A Little House Christmas: Holiday Stories from the Little House Books

This is a collection of the Christmas scenes from different books in the Little House on the Prairie series. There are some good Christmas stories in those books, where people often had trouble getting together, and the family had their own, homemade fun and enjoyed simple pleasures.

Christmas Cookbook

Christmas recipes from around the world!

Many people feel nostalgic about special foods and treats around Christmas. Even if you can’t get together and eat with as many people this year, you can still enjoy old favorites, and baking special Christmas cookies and making candy and other treats can be a good activity and something you can enjoy with children.

Of course, a classic Christmas activity is making a gingerbread house. Or, if you’re like me, using the shortcut of making one out of graham crackers or pop tarts. (Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be fun. It’s always a little messy, and you’ll notice mine has old Valentine candy on it because it’s more fun to read candy hearts than eat them.) If you don’t have proper piping bags for the icing, you can always do what I do and put the icing in a sandwich bag or freezer bag and snip off one corner.

If none of these activities sound like your traditional activities, or if you don’t feel like doing what you ordinarily would do, consider starting a new tradition! Make a new kind of craft or try a new recipe you’ve never tried before. All traditions were new once, and if you like it, it might just catch on.

Be Good to Yourself

Whatever you decide to do this year, do things that make you happy. Christmas is a day to celebrate, to enjoy what you have and give yourself a special treat. Ask yourself what would make you the happiest and make it a point to do things that you enjoy. Read a favorite book (whether it’s about Christmas or not), eat your favorite snacks, have a bubble bath, make a pillow fort with the kids (or, heck, just make one for yourself – who’s gonna know?), run around in the park, drink hot chocolate, play games, whatever you like. Give yourself permission to relax for one day.

Even if you’re spending Christmas alone this year, there are still things you can do to be happy. Take advantage of the freedom of being alone to watch movies, listen to music, or eat foods you like but nobody else really does. Call people and wish them Merry Christmas. If you haven’t sent everyone a card yet, this is a good time to do that.

Surprise Someone

Hopefully, you’ve done all of your Christmas shopping, but there’s still time to surprise someone with something special. If it’s not a gift, it can be just something nice that you do for someone. Call or write to someone you haven’t talked to in awhile and let them know you’re thinking of them. Call into a local radio station and request a song you can dedicate to someone else. Arrange to do yard work for someone to help them even if you can’t have close personal contact with them. Seeing that you can do little things to help people and make them smile may make you smile, too.

If you want a sense of accomplishment, do something to help someone else or make plans to do it for the New Year. There are many groups to donate to, from pet shelters to organizations that help foster children. Do a little research and find out what’s happening in your community and look for a cause you’d like to support. You could donate money to help the homeless or make toys out of no-sew fleece for the local pet shelter. If you’re feeling lonely, there are even some organizations (like this one) that will match you up with a pen pal, like a home-bound senior, who could also use some companionship and emotional support. To find these groups, Google “write to the elderly” and add in your location to find a senior pen pal near you. Consider ways to connect with your community and the people in it, even if you can’t exactly gather yet. Nothing lasts forever, and by the time the pandemic eases, you may have made some new friends by connecting with a good cause.

Merry Christmas!