Second Cup: Make little moments festive

Add some holiday spirit to everyday life

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good Morning.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to make little moments festive. Getting in the
holiday spirit doesn't need to involve big, showy decorations, though
obviously it can. There are lots of little moments through
the day where tiny changes can make a big difference.

(00:35):
Every year, I make a holiday fund list and plot
out when my family will be doing things like visiting
holiday train displays or seeing the Nutcracker. These events tend
to involve times and tickets, which isn't a bad thing.
When something is on the schedule and I pay for tickets,
I tend to do it. But some items on the

(00:57):
holiday fun list are more about moments. For instance, I
decided to set the serious XM radio channel in my
car to seventy nine, which is holly. I might get
sick of the holiday music eventually, but it's as fun
as listening to random pop music for a few weeks,
and it makes carpool runs feel more festive. I've been

(01:21):
listening to Box Christmas Oratorio while doing my daily stretches.
I am practicing for my twenty twenty four project of
listening to all the works of Bach. So in the meantime,
why not listen to his famous Christmas masterpiece. A few
weeks ago I pulled out my stash of Christmas puzzles.

(01:42):
I like to work on one thousand piece puzzles at
night because it's relaxing and keeps.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Me off my phone. When I'm on my phone, I
tend to look at the news, and that is of
course far less relaxing. So one thousand piece puzzles it is.
I could work on any sort of puzzle, so why
not do ones with rustic Christmas scenes or pictures of
carollers or of Santa sitting by a fire. I have

(02:11):
dug into my stash of old holiday magazines. I love
old magazines in general, especially those from a long time ago,
as they show what life was like for normal people
in times past. I have collected some vintage December issues
of women's magazines, but I have also kept some that

(02:31):
I have subscribed to years of Martha Stuart, Living, Better
Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Oh, the Oprah Magazine, and
so forth. Some of these titles have stopped publishing, which
makes me happy that I saved the old ones. I
don't really remember flipping through the December twenty thirteen Martha

(02:52):
Stuart Living issue back in twenty thirteen, even though I'm
sure I did so. It's like reading a new magazine,
and it turns downtime into something more festive. In any case,
we have some discretion over how we spend our leisure time,
and especially the little choices like music and reading material

(03:13):
that are definitely within our control. We also have some
discretion over small things in our homes, like using holiday
soaps or lighting candles. It is as easy to use
evergreen scented soap as lavender scented soap for a few weeks,
and one probably feels more festive. If you are reading

(03:34):
to kids, why not read a holiday story instead of
stories you read the rest of the year. We can
go overboard on this, of course, but every year, as
the weather gets bleak in December, I remember the wisdom
of ancient humans holding solstice festivals, and then of the
Christian tradition putting this holiday of light during the darkest

(03:58):
days of the year. As the song goes, we need
a little Christmas. Write this very minute, even if you
don't celebrate Christmas or simply celebrate the secular version of it.
A little festivity amid bleakness can be welcome. Indeed, in
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

(04:22):
to making the most of our times. Thanks for listening
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
you can reach.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.