In this beautiful holiday season, time somehow becomes less our own. Preparations and shopping dictate our days with lists of gifts and Christmas cards and wrapping paper and that special new holiday outfit.
So we rush from store to store, wishing for more hours in a day! To bring a dash of comfort to your holidays, consider this special Shopping List. It is intended just for you, to pamper yourself right now at the end of busy days, to allow moments of peace when you can savor the many holiday blessings.
Try to select one or two items from this list and add them to the very top of yours. Sometimes we have to fashion our own quiet, our own peace, in this busy time. I hope this Pre-shopping list helps you enjoy some of that serenity throughout the season. Comfort and joy are as close as our homes even as we prepare. With warm Season’s Greetings to all …
• Luxurious Blanket Throw
Find a soft one in a deep plaid that evokes sitting beside a fireplace while winter taps at the windows. When you get home, drape it over your favorite overstuffed chair. Make this a small corner of warmth and comfort, a place to end every shopping excursion with a throw to curl beneath, a book and cup of eggnog in your lap as you luxuriate in a few minutes peace.
• Holiday Coffee Mug
Stop at a local gift shop or home décor boutique. Choose an elegant coffee mug custom designed for this time of year: Reindeer, Snowman, Star. The salesclerk will wrap it in beautiful tissue and when you get home, set that precious mug out on the kitchen counter. Whenever you return from a hectic day, pour yourself a cup of specialty coffee, or make piping hot chocolate with marshmallows. With the warm mug cupped in your hands, sit down, maybe beneath that throw, take a few deep breaths, inhale the aroma of the beverage.
• Fuzzy Slippers
Have some fun with this one. Get a holiday motif, or a pair with a pretty bow on them. The intent is to keep lighthearted during this hectic time. After hours of shopping, slip off your shoes and slip into these cozy mittens for the feet.
• Candles and a New CD
Find candles scented in peppermint or cinnamon stick. At the same time, treat yourself to a new Christmas CD and jingle all the way home. Once there, light the candles, find those fuzzy slippers, turn the music down low and unwind.
• Pashmina Scarf & Snowflake Earrings
Pre-shopping preparations can make shopping all the merrier! On your first shopping excursion, buy a bright red pashmina scarf and a pair of silver snowflake earrings. Whenever you plan another shopping day, be certain to wear your new holiday scarf and sparkling earrings to ring in the shopping day in style.
Happy Holidays (and Shopping)!
Joanne DeMaio is a Connecticut writer with freelance credits that include The Hartford Courant and local publications. Her memoir essays have appeared in literary journals while her fiction explores the concept of identity woven into family and friendships. Joanne maintains Whole Latte Life, a blog about living a choice life, at www.joannedemaio.blogspot.com.
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