The joyous holiday season is here! It is time for schmoozing and partying with happy people. However, many people, I included, do not always feel so cheery during the holidays. Our house is empty because our children are all grown with families of their own. A three-foot Christmas tree, sparsely decorated, sadly sits on the end table in the living room. The windows are bare of the lighted candles that used to brightly adorn them during the holidays.

I miss “the old days”, when my children were younger and we knew that on Christmas Eve we would have baked stuffed shrimp, green bean casserole and twice baked potatoes lovingly made by Hubby. After dinner we would watch The Three Stooges on television, a show Marie, who is deaf, could enjoy along with the rest of us. We laughed at their antics, and always went to bed happy. Christmas morning would come earlier than a usual morning, with the kiddos waking us up and hopping up and down on two feet anxious to open their Christmas gifts. We would have breakfast, and the youngsters would go off in different directions to play with their toys while Hubby and I would crawl back into bed to catch up on our sleep. The joy was built in because of the participants involved.

Now, our holiday celebrations are minimized with plans to go to Steven’s home on Christmas Eve and Dinora’s home on Christmas day. Marie, still young and in love, has chosen to spend the time with a good friend out of state, and Angel lives out of state with his biological brother and his family in Orlando, Florida. Francis and his family will fly in from California for New Year’s Eve and we will celebrate Christmas on New Year’s Day. Of course, these many mini celebrations will be great, but they do not add up to the holiday cheer we celebrated when our family was younger and living all under one roof.

To combat the nostalgic feelings, my mission this holiday season is to spread Christmas cheer among strangers, hoping to add a little joy to both their seasonal festivities and my own. This started on Black Friday when unbelievable toy sales blanketed the internet with ads. Always one to appreciate a bargain, especially a 70% OFF bargain, my fingers began to delightfully dance on the computer keyboard, ordering remote control vehicles, Barbie dolls and family games for under ten dollars each. The gifts were anonymously sent to a large church in South Providence which was collecting presents for the members of their congregation. What a delightful feeling that was!

Greatly enjoying a shopping day at Ocean State Job Lot, my skills were put to good use to purchase blankets, hats, and gloves for the homeless. Not only were the prices reasonable, but as a Job Lot “Insider”, I was presented with a gift card of equal value as my purchase. Hubby was thrilled with this and proceeded to go shopping to replenish all the spices in our home. He also managed to throw extra cans of vegetables in the cart, along with boxes of uncooked macaroni and cheese, cereal, dog and cat food, and scalloped potatoes which he donated to a local food pantry. It was a “win-win” situation, and both of us were happy that we were able to do something for others.

I wrote several letters to people in the military service thanking them for their service and wishing them a happy holiday. Done through the Any Soldier website, the representative who gets the letters gives them out to soldiers who have not received any mail, thereby ensuring it gets to a person who would appreciate it.

I work in a great non-profit organization that helps the homeless. For a staff of twenty-five, I purchased inexpensive keychains with a starfish on them, and printed out the cute little starfish story. (The one where a man is walking on a beach and sees a boy throwing stranded starfish into the sea. He tells him that there are so many starfish he can’t possibly make a difference, but the boy swooped down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the water. “It made a difference to that one”, he said.) Putting them in little organza bags, with a tag that says, “You make a difference”, the little presents await dispensation closer to Christmas.

All of a sudden, I am joyful! I think I will go home and add some decorations to the Christmas tree and put those candles up in our windows.

Have a great holiday!