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Why Christmas plays are hard work

Cartoon of a boy in a shepherd costume and a teacher at a Christmas play

 

Cartoon of a boy in a shepherd costume and a teacher. The boy says, “You call this a Christmas play? There is no playground and you’re putting us to work!”

I am a big fan of A Charlie Brown Christmas. We’re the same age. We both came to this world in 1965. I’ve been in my share of Christmas plays and they always seemed as chaotic as the one Charlie Brown is directing. And I’ve always been tempted to break out of character and just dance in the middle of the play.

Christmas plays are hard work because you have to act A LOT when you’re in one. You have to pretend that boy who you know is a practical joker is Joseph. You have to pretend the girl who kicked you in the shins during recess is Mary. Then YOU have to pretend you are somber and just seen a platoon of angels when you know full well it was the Smith triplets in bath robes.

Christmas plays are also hard work because we can’t get our head around the notion God came to Earth as a baby to a poor family and was born in a barn. Lets face it. If we were God, WE wouldn’t want to be born in a barn and we’d want more than some smelly shepherds to visit us that first night.

Those Christmas plays are just hard work!

 

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Christmas holiday

Away in in a Marketed Manger

Cartoon of a Bethlehem Christmas scene with obnoxious sign

Cartoon of a Bethlehem Christmas scene with obnoxious sign

Bethlehem scene with a big sign that says, “See the newborn king here!”

There’s a song/skit I love from Stan Freburg called Green Christmas.

In the skit, it talks about how Christmas is marketed mercilessly. Let’s face it. Most Christmas marketing is just cheesy. Any time you take a meaningful story and use it to sell something, it doesn’t come across as genuine.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that because, well, I don’t want to be cheesy. I like content marketing because it adds value more than sells. But where do you draw the line? When does content marketing become cheesy? When it becomes about the product instead of the customer, I suppose.

Still, that can be difficult to discern when there is a sales quota.

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Christmas holiday

Office Holiday Spirit

Christmas cartoon of a grumpy businessman

Christmas cartoon of a grumpy businessman

Cartoon of a man in a santa suit and a grumpy businessman. The businessman says, “The office is in the holiday spirit. At least it is as soon as I leave it.”

I saw a production of A Christmas Carol last night. It had me thinking of what a modern-day Scrooge would look like. I know there are plenty around modern offices. I admit I haven’t decorated my cubicle or began shouting, “Ho, ho, ho!” yet.

There’s something about the crass commercialism part of Christmas that makes us feel uncomfortable. We take a religious holiday and make it a make-or-break buying bonanza. Even if our office depends upon this commercialism, it makes us feel uncomfortable, doesn’t it. O the avarice!

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Christmas holiday

How can you be good at Christmas?

Cartoon of a boy and an annoyed girl

 

Cartoon of a boy sticking out his tongue and an annoyed girl. The girl says, “How do you expect me to be good for Christmas with him in the same room?”

It’s not easy, is it? I’m ashamed to say I was probably that antagonist to my sisters a few times. If I could go back in time thirty years ago and advise my sisters, I’d say, “Just stay away from that guy. And if he persists, remind him he’ll be on the naughty list before you will.” If he believes he is already on the naughty list, remind him there is grace. Yes, Santa gives grace to, but don’t push it!

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Christmas holiday webcomic

How to teach your kids about Christmas Joy

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

It’s inevitable. The Christmas schedule is crazy, you want peace on Earth, goodwill towards men. Then you hear your kids start to argue. They’ve only been on Christmas break for one day and they are driving each other crazy!

It is difficult to have the holiday spirit when your kids are bickering with each other. How can you teach your kids about joy and have a little yourself?

Take a deep breath and consider some of these points:

  • Happiness and joy are two different things.
    • Happiness is a feeling that ebbs and flows.
    • Joy is based on what we know-our convictions. Even when things don’t go our way, we can have joy.
  • Our joy isn’t based on the perfect Christmas.
    • Let’s face it, people won’t cooperate
    • Things break down
    • Schedules become crazier than the flight schedule at O’Hare on Thanksgiving weekend
    • And said to say, tragedies happen
      • We remember loved ones who passed away
      • A separation or divorce hurts even more this time of year
  • Joy comes when we stop being self-centered and become others-centered
    • Get a present for someone in need
    • Volunteer at a soup kitchen
    • Consider why the other person is grumpy
      • Have they gone through a tragedy?
      • Are they lonely?
      • Have they spent all day working retail at the biggest Christmas sale ever?

Our happiness can go up and down with the thermometer. But we can have joy and teach our kids to have it during this busy Christmas season.