festive resolutions

I find it hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. All the build up to this one day and then the presents, food, phone calls and just as quickly it's all over and you spend Boxing Day trying to recover full functionality of your overindulged body. It's the same every year and every Boxing Day I vow to do it differently next time. Not that I haven't loved Christmases gone by, it's just that I wish I could get my act together to start shopping earlier for presents, not spend as much, try not to eat myself into a semi-coma and do more for those who are less fortunate. I haven't done it yet but 2011 is my year for Christmas change!
Take my mom, for instance, who left her shopping to Christmas eve this year (sorry to 'out' you Ma) and I ended up with two right hand gloves. I loved them but she insisted on returning them to the store. On my side, I sent presents all across the world, only to discover yesterday that half of them never arrived. Gutted. I probably should have listened to the lady at the post office when she warned that I had missed the last posting date. I just thought she was trying to make more money out me.
When it comes to lunch, why did we think it necessary to have two roasts, a mountain of vegetables to rival Kilimanjaro as well as two desserts and other snacks? There was so much food we didn't even realise that the Yorkshire puddings had been left in the oven to become the casualties of Christmas lunch.
This year, in my attempt to 'have a Christmas with a difference', I researched helping out at a homeless shelter for the day. I'm sad to say that I was very quickly deterred by the health and safety training and pages of rules and regulations. Perish the thought that one could simply turn up and serving dinner to the needy! I know we need systems in place but I also had a moment where I feared we may be suffocating ourselves in our cotton wool world.
All of this said, we did have a really lovely Christmas this year and let's be honest, the funny stories and traditional chaos is a large part of what makes Christmas special. I just hope that in all the protocol I can stay true, not just to myself, but to the meaning behind it all. It's not just about going to church, but why we go to church. It's not just about a baby in a manger but about who that baby was and is. And as long as I keep that at the centre of it all, who cares if my Boxing Day resolutions are never realised. As long as I remember to rejoice through it all.