Review: Put away your credit cards! This is an instructional manual for a warm, heartfelt meaning full Christmas.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 5, 2012
This little book delighted me! I love Christmas, but it has become so commercialized that the traditional meanings of faith and family, friends and community have become buried under the mountains of debt that are racked up each year to pay for the latest gadgets and trends. This book is a reminder that anyone can step back and create new traditions that embrace simple things that will become beloved memories many years after the newest ipad or the latest high Tec game has been thrown away.I loved the idea of the paper chain calendar that starts at Thanksgiving and gives each member of the family a chance to pick a date to do something they really want to do.  I could see a young family building a tradition of having a "media tent" in the living room and sharing it as they watch movies and holiday TV specials that each one has had a chance to pick.Connie Neal has put this book together in such a wonderful way, filling it with ideas, lists of the necessary supplies and instructions needed to make them a reality, as well as heart warming stories that are examples of some of the ideas put into practice.I like that she encourages everyone to include their community in some of their new traditions-not just friends, neighbors and families.  Going to a senior's home to bring happiness to the hearts of those who are alone or ill is something that we know is a heartfelt thing to do, but sometimes we need to be reminded to do it.Everyone enjoys the pleasure of having enough money to make life enjoyable, but stress free inner contentment is priceless, and surely the greatest Christmas tradition that we can hand down to our families.Good job Ms. Neal--thank you for reminding us of the simple pleasures of the season and including instructions for creating them.