I'm writing this on December 5th. This past weekend, I was able to attend a Madrigal dinner and concert (fabulous!) on Saturday night. I missed the Christmas parade since it was the same time as Madrigal.

In church, we sang Christmas songs and had a sermon about the meaning of advent. That afternoon, we went to a big concert by a symphony orchestra, children's choir, and children's violin orchestra. Wow. I sat there thinking, if this is my last day of life, I'd be okay with that. Now, there's customer satisfaction, right?

Counting Down to the 25th
Each morning, I add a numbered magnetic bulb to the magnetic tree stuck on the side of my fridge. A lot of us are counting down to the 25th, whether by adding a magnetic bulb, opening the door on an antique advent calendar, watching a Christmas movie, etc. Maybe all of the above!

I put up my vintage aluminum tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and got the mistletoe ready, just in case, over the door.

Gifts--sheesh--I struggle with this more each year. 
The  monetary cost is part of my difficulty, but also the high probability that whatever I buy won't be something the recipient actually wants, let alone needs. Then there's the environmental cost. Nobody wants me to get started on this whole topic, but if you're interested in some facts and some creative alternatives, read Joshua Becker's blog, Before you buy your kids a bunch of toys for Christmas. And then check out USA Today's article, Why you shouldn't give gifts to adults.

The gift of time, and experiences, feels like the right way to go.

More Christmas this week
On Wednesday, December 6th, I'll be at the Sweet Romance Reads Christmas Party on Facebook. We hope you'll join us! Click here to go to the party page.

Sometime this week, we might check a couple of movies off the list. I'm going to a dinner party Thursday night. Christmas songs play in my apartment part of the time, but I'm not ready for 24/7 holiday music.

Friday looks relatively quiet. Saturday is a road trip and a much-anticipated concert. Sunday night, another dinner party.

And it's all fun! (Except worrying about the whole gifts issue. That, to me, is anything but fun.) I won't go into the rest of my December schedule--at least not yet. Yours may very well be busier than mine, on top of everything else in life that demands time and energy.

I'll let you in on a little secret that probably won't surprise you. I've about maxed out. I think being an introvert, and a minimalist, and a person who cares deeply about the environment as well as the healthful (or not) qualities of the foods we eat, December is, in many ways, too much. I love the Christmas season, and don't want to spoil it.

So let me ask, when do you reach enough? And what do you do when you get there?

Until next time--happy reading!
Magdalena

P.S.: At bedtime, I'm still savoring my re-read of Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice.. I don't want it to end!