Krank Down the Holiday Hype

The holiday season used to be my favorite time of year. Decorating, shopping, throwing parties, giving and receiving gifts, and competing with the neighbors for the ultimate outdoor light show were things I lived for. This year? I feel like one of the Kranks, wanting to skip it altogether.

Before the Kranks made their screen debut in 2004, John Grisham wrote Skipping Christmas. (I encourage you to read Skipping Christmas. In my opinion, it’s better than the movie Christmas With The Kranks. It had me laughing out loud.) In it, he exposes the season’s hype through the main characters who decide to skip Christmas one year. No tree, no party, no outside lights – nada! This year, that sounds very appealing to me.

It’s not so much that I want to skip the holiday as it is that I want to change the holiday for my family and me. As we recover from 2020 and 2021, things ARE different in our world. I don’t feel the excitement this year, like I have in past years. I don’t want the expectations placed on me either. Instead, I’m longing for peace, simplicity, connection, and authenticity. So…

This year, I am gifting from a place of gratitude, not obligation. This year my (privileged) sons will likely receive dog toys to entertain their fur babies. If someone gets a gift from me, it’s because I saw it and thought of them and bought it with them in mind. Not because it’s Christmas and I’m “supposed” to give gifts. My season will not be centered around gift-giving.

Instead, my season will be about creating experiences and meaningful connections. Instead of a gorging ourselves on a big turkey and roast beef meal on Christmas, I propose we make pizzas together and create a new memory. After pizza, we may go hiking, or have a NERF war with the neighbors. Late afternoon, we will go see a movie together. It’s one of the few days of the year when we are all available to have experiences together.

I encourage you to save your strength and sanity this year and give great experiences instead of (or in addition to) physical gifts to your loved ones and friends. Memories last a lifetime, and we are the sum-total of all of our experiences.

Here are a few ideas for creating some of your own memorable experiences this season.

1. Gift giving with a twist! Cement block story*
2. Take a trip
3. Scavenger hunt for gifts (or treasure hunt?)
4. Play games-board games or sports-annual basketball or football game.
5. Cook a one-pot meal together where everyone brings 1 ingredient to add.
6. Bar-b-que. Who cares if it’s snowing! Grill some steaks and think of summer!
7. On Christmas Eve, take the family bowling or mini golfing-add friends, and you’ve got a party.

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Whatever way you choose to spend your holidays, let it be with joy, not obligation, and overwhelm – and let it be with those you genuinely want to be with. I hope you will create memorable experiences that you will talk about for years to come.

May peace be with you this holiday season,

*The cement block story mentioned above goes like this.

Each year for the past eight years or so, we have given our two boys cash and a gift card as one of their presents. The twist is that the gift card and cash are sealed in an air-tight bag each year, dropped in the middle of wet cement, then allowed to cure for about two weeks before Christmas. The cement-encased gift is hidden either in the house or somewhere on our property. It is not unusual for the cement block to also be encased in a wooden box.

On Christmas Day, the boys are given multiple clues that lead them to various locations, searching for their prize.

Once the gift is located, the real fun begins. The boys use brute strength, a lot of testosterone, hammers, and an ax to coax the prize from the box and the cement block. (Safety goggles are mandatory for this activity.) I must say, I’ve never seen two men have so much fun with a Christmas present. And it is a delight to watch them.