Train up a child…
Avoiding the Christmas “Letdown”
Many people seem to experience a letdown feeling after gifts are opened at Christmas. This is a natural feeling when one has built up in the mind for several weeks a vision of how wonderful Christmas will be. Then when the gifts are all opened, it seems to be over. Not only that, but if someone didn’t appear to like the gift we gave, or if we, ourselves, were disappointed with what we got, there is an added negative emotion. We may even feel guilt for not doing as much as we thought we should or because we don’t appreciate our gifts as much as we think we should.
There are things we can do ahead of time to prevent these unpleasant feelings. Disappointment is in proportion to expectations. Before Christmas, we need to control our expectations. We need to be realistic and realize that seldom is there a picture-perfect Christmas. If our family Christmas does not turn our just as we envisioned, the truth is that probably very few others did either. It is nice to pretend that it was perfect…especially for the sake of not offending or disappointing someone else. Nevertheless, let’s admit that there are not many perfect Christmases. People are people. People are not perfect.
We have all seen or heard of jokes about the “off-the-wall” gifts that husbands sometimes buy wives. Why do the wives get so upset? It usually is not about the gift as much as it is about the lack of understanding. The wife is disappointed because she feels that her husband did not care enough about her to try to understand what she really wanted. It may be possible that she feels that household items are for everyone, including him, not just her. When a husband gives household items, it is like saying, “You are the housekeeper and you should be happy with this tool to make your work easier.” The wife feels that she should be more than a housekeeper to her husband, and he should feel that way, too.
The spirit of love that is felt at Christmas can be carried over throughout the year. It does not need to end when the gifts are opened. There are many wonderful people who know how to carry this feeling on and on. Some retired folks, especially, seem to understand that the new purpose in their lives is to serve others. They no longer have to work to support a family and now have the time to be of assistance to others. These people feel less of a letdown after Christmas because they have a purpose that is never ending.
Having an immediate new family project in mind helps to keep the children focused on the future. The truth is that playing with toys and using the gifts often is not as much fun as the anticipation of doing so. To introduce a new project provides the anticipation now missing. A discussion with the children about how to carry on the spirit of Christmas can be a valuable tool in ridding them of a letdown feeling.
The best remedy for most ills is to keep busy doing activities that have a positive result. December 26 does not mean that we have to stop enjoying the wonderful feeling of making others happy.