Shortly after Thanksgiving the song “We Need a little Christmas Now”[1] began to run through my head on constant repeat. It was, quite frankly, annoying.

I don’t know about you, but we felt a little subdued going into the holiday season[2] this year, for reasons external and internal. I did not need Angela Lansbury being exuberant in my head.

We pared down our Christmas decorations to the things that matter to us most: a row of angels on the mantel, lighted stars in the windows, front and back, and a tree that smells wonderful. After a week of trying to get up the oomph to open the box of tree ornaments, My Own True Love declared the tree looked elegant with just lights. I agreed, then dug out the angel that goes on the top so our simple tree looked intentional rather than unfinished.

What we couldn’t pare down were the holiday events we were committed to.Since we couldn’t cancel, we leaned in. To our surprise, we have felt a little better with every gathering. Apparently we did “need a little Christmas right this very minute.”

I hope you, too, have a merry/jolly/happy/blessed time as you celebrate the victory of light over the darkness in the tradition of your choice.

(Just a reminder:  If you want to watch the video, click on the post title to take you to your browser.)

PS As I have for the last few years, I’m giving myself a holiday from blogging through the end of the year. I’ll be back in January with some historical stories you probably haven’t heard and some books you might enjoy.

[1] From the musical Mame.

[2] To be honest, I always start the holidays with a bit of Scrooge in my heart.