“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” —Norman Vincent Peale

I have to believe that almost everyone has a few good holiday memories. There are a lot of jokes and memes out there about how miserable being with family can be and how stressful the holidays are. While some are excited for the holidays, others take on the persona of the Grinch— before his “small heart grows three sizes.” Bah-humbug is the mantra for many, and let’s not forget the original king of mean—Scrooge. There are people who proudly admit they are Scrooge.

Me? I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum, more like Elf, but maybe not quite so enthusiastic. However, I'm all in favor of everyone spreading Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear—and I can’t even sing!

You hear it all the time: “Shop local!” But why should you? It’s so much easier to sit in bed all comfy and cozy with the world of retail at your fingertips. You never have to worry about running into anyone you know, getting out of your pajamas, or taking time to drive to a store and actually go in. You can shop ’til you drop all by yourself without ever touching a product or talking to a human.

While online shopping seems to be the ticket for ease and convenience, shoppers need to think twice about dissing the local stores in their community. There are detrimental, long-term consequences to the massive growing, online shopping mentality.

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving..”
—Mother Theresa—

Here come the holidays racing in
like they are being chased by a harried haint leftover from Halloween. Ready or not, in the next 55 days, most of us will run around inundated with mile-long to-do lists. Cleaning, decorating, traveling, cleaning, cooking, baking, shopping, cleaning, wrapping, partying…WHOA! I’m going to stop right there and give you permission to holiday differently this year. I don’t want you to be there (thinking if I can just get through the holidays), when you can be here (designing the holidays you desire).
Everything on that lofty list of to-dos I just rambled off can be enjoyable, but here’s a secret: even if that stuff doesn’t get done, you can still enjoy yourself this holiday season. You don’t have to define the “success” of your holidays by how clean your house is, how awe-inspiring your decor is, how many presents you buy for people, or if you burned the turkey (or forgot to unthaw it!) In fact, tell me three things you got for Christmas last year.

I know it’s that time of year to be extra thankful, but it seems like the humbug is already trying to take root in my holiday happiness, and it’s all due to pumpkin spice haters.

I don’t care if you don’t like pumpkin spice. All I ask is that you don’t care if I do. But that seems to be a problem for a lot of people. They can’t seem to enjoy their flavors, and live with the fact that some people choose pumpkin spice.

I happen to be a lover of pretty much anything pumpkin, especially when it comes to pie, bread, cookies, coffee or general desserts. Those pumpkin rolls, constructed of pumpkin bread rolled up with a thick layer of cream cheese, are so insanely delicious they should be against the law. And pumpkin cheesecake, O.M.G. thank you Cheesecake Factory for not listening to “those people” who say abhorrent things like “it’s too early for pumpkin spice.”

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” —Anaïs Nin

I’ve done it again. Put myself in a position to stress and worry. As the founder of Pink and Paisley Magazines, I have a passion for people and connecting them with each other to benefit both sides. I love putting people together, so much so, we used to do an article called Mix and Match. We would have a single man and a single woman go on a date, along with our writer, who was perfect for this assignment. Sometimes it was a match, and sometimes not so much, but it was always fun—though risky—and made for great reading, too.

In my passion to connect people, Pink has become the events leader for women in our area, and this is where my stress comes in. When people look at things from the outside, it all usually appears easy; and one would think after doing them for so many years that it is easy. Granted, we have gotten the due diligence of our events down to a science, but where the uneasiness comes in is the part out of our control: Will anyone come?