HOLIDAY EXPLORER
And finding my Christmas spirit.
As I jumped into my daughter’s car at the airport curbside pickup, she gestured to the bag I had slung over my shoulder and said, “What’s with the Dora the Explorer backpack?”
She was comparing my bag to the backpack worn by the plucky cartoon character that traveled through episodes of fantastical trips disguised as educational programming. As you know, I refuse to pay $70 to bring a carry-on size suitcase with me for the weekend, and because I’m a rule follower, I measure my personal item bag—exactly 10” × 14” × 8”—which coincidentally looks like a child’s backpack.
Even so, frugality flies out the window this time of year, especially when shopping for gifts for my adult children. Gone are the days of Matchbox race cars and Barbie dolls. The question I posed to my offspring this year was, “Is there anything on your list that’s less than $100?”
There were a few items on their emailed lists, sent complete with links to purchasing pages so I could click on the links and send them directly, with or without gift wrapping. It doesn’t matter because they know what I’m sending anyway—they picked it out!
Truth be told, this has been our routine for many years. I ask them to make a list so that I can get it for them. I think it started long before the kids left the nest … probably when they were teenagers and the idea of shopping with their mom was as distasteful as the ratatouille I made for Thanksgiving dinner one year. It was the first year that I tried to make our meal healthier, and I took too big of a leap. As you can imagine, a pot of eggplant, stewed tomatoes, onions, and peppers didn’t go over very well. I still try to make our meals healthier without losing the traditional favorites.
Even though I told you, it bears repeating since this year’s attempt had a much better outcome. I roasted sweet potatoes in olive oil, along with a few beets, rather than topping the casserole with mini-marshmallows. It was a hit! I’m going to add that to the NEW traditional menu list.
Riding high on my Thanksgiving dinner success, I feel ready to try something new for my holiday shopping. For one thing, I feel like going shopping rather than clicking on links from my computer. I want to see Christmas lights and decorations and hear Christmas carols. Maybe it will get me out of this funk.
It’s been hard to get in the holiday spirit this year. We haven’t been inclined to decorate. Who has the time? And then you have to take it all down again. For the last few years, my husband and I have bought gifts for the house rather than big individual gifts for each other. Last year, partially thanks to Hurricane Ian, we replaced our wood flooring with travertine tile. This year, we’re finally replacing our kitchen appliances. I’m excited about that, but there will be no gifts to put under the tree.
We did get a live tree again this year, proving that there is one Christmas tradition that hasn’t been abandoned. However, the tree has stood bare in the living room for a week now—letting the branches settle—according to my husband. He also claims that he decorated the tree by himself last year. I can’t remember; maybe he did. He says this to prod me out of my funk. And he’s right, and perhaps it’s just what I need to inspire me to try something new.
So, with my backpack in tow, I’m now ready to be a holiday explorer.
