WEBVTT - Why I’m not simplifying the holidays

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to realize that while some folks get

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<v Speaker 1>into simplifying the holidays, sometimes making a big production can

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<v Speaker 1>be a lot of fun. Special occasions are a great

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to do that. Every year, around this time I

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<v Speaker 1>start seeing an avalanche of headlines about how to simplify

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<v Speaker 1>the holidays. The usual narrative is that we're all so

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<v Speaker 1>busy and put upon that adding the holidays to the

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<v Speaker 1>mix is an invitation to go crazy, so we should

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<v Speaker 1>pare down. Don't host that party, don't go to that party.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't have to send cards, you don't have to decorate,

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<v Speaker 1>don't give many gifts, and of course you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to do any of these things. And plenty of people

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<v Speaker 1>don't celebrate the various December holidays anyway. But this line

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<v Speaker 1>of reasoning always strikes me as a bit bah humbug.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, maybe there are people out there with such

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<v Speaker 1>fabulous social lives that they really can't pack in, say,

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<v Speaker 1>half a dozen extra things over the course of four

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<v Speaker 1>weeks of December. And maybe there are people who shoulder

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<v Speaker 1>the entire load of doing all the planning and gift

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<v Speaker 1>buying and such for their families. And if that's so,

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<v Speaker 1>the answer is to share this, which is one way

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<v Speaker 1>to streamline the holidays. But in general, most festivities associated

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<v Speaker 1>with the holidays are well fun. It's fun to see

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<v Speaker 1>sparkling lights and eat special dishes. It's fun to see

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<v Speaker 1>people we haven't seen in a while, especially when they're

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<v Speaker 1>all cleaned up and looking their best. Yes, people can

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<v Speaker 1>build all sorts of emotions and expectations into gift giving,

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<v Speaker 1>but the reason formal gift giving has evolved as a

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<v Speaker 1>custom all over the world is that it really does

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<v Speaker 1>cement relationships. Maybe it doesn't make logical sense that if

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<v Speaker 1>you and I both give each other fairly similar bottles

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<v Speaker 1>of wine will feel different about each other, But the

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<v Speaker 1>truth is we will, So why not acknowledge that and

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<v Speaker 1>make the most of it. Now. I'm no Martha Stewart,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do love seeing our tree with all the ornaments.

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<v Speaker 1>I love our matching stockings embroidered with each of our names,

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<v Speaker 1>And now I'm thinking how I can get a matching

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<v Speaker 1>one for the new little baby when he comes. I

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<v Speaker 1>make a holiday fun list every year with things like

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<v Speaker 1>going to the Nutcracker, going to a local model train display,

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<v Speaker 1>and seeing my kids perform in the church's Christmas pageant.

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<v Speaker 1>Ordering and wrapping presents is a lot of work, but

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<v Speaker 1>my husband and I split this and it's exciting to

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<v Speaker 1>see the happy faces on Christmas morning. And here's the

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<v Speaker 1>thing about it being a lot of work. Just like

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<v Speaker 1>with our recent episode on making those holiday trips, part

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<v Speaker 1>of wisdom is recognizing that things that make us happy

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<v Speaker 1>overall don't always make us blissful in the moment. So yes,

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<v Speaker 1>putting the kids in the car to go see Holida

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<v Speaker 1>lights takes more effort then marching through the usual routine

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<v Speaker 1>of dinner, baths and bed. Perhaps I'd be more rested

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<v Speaker 1>just doing the ladder, But what on earth am I

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<v Speaker 1>saving this energy for. It's hard to imagine the upside

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<v Speaker 1>of getting to January and thinking few, Thank goodness, I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do anything. So I will not be simplifying the holidays.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll probably go a bit overboard as usual. But the

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<v Speaker 1>definition of special occasions is that they are special. They

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<v Speaker 1>don't happen all the time, so why not make the

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<v Speaker 1>most of them in the meantime. This is Laura thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast p

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<v Speaker 1>o D. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com that

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<v Speaker 1>so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

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