Whether you like it or not, the holidays are upon us. Hanukkah may have ended yesterday, but I am sure you can think about the last eight days and relate to most of this post.

Christmas is coming up on Monday and Kwanzaa starts the following day. When these holidays come around, you know the end of the year is rapidly approaching. The rush to get gifts for our loved ones and prepare feasts for these joyous occasions can be enough pressure to make some of us burst. Others of us shine when put to the test.

A post I wrote a while ago talks about there being different types of people. Some that can’t wait to blast holiday music and hang lights on their houses the day after Thanksgiving. And others who don’t do their Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve.  Some of us thrive under the pressure and others sink – so we need to prepare in advance and take on tiny chunks of responsibility at a time.

The holiday cards we read are about peace and joy and love, but sometimes it may seem like the holidays can be anything but. We wait until after the holidays are over to enjoy the peace and serenity of our children occupied with new toys and our families back to their homes.

This year, I want to challenge myself, and you. Let’s try to make the time with family and friends something joyous. Let’s leave all the worry behind. If you couldn’t prepare in the way you had hoped – just be honest. I am sure your loved ones will appreciate the candor. Everyone knows how stressful this time of year can be. We are not all made of money and time is always a constraint. But getting together with each other and having some quality time is truly most important.

When the choice is the quality of time or the quantity of gifts, no matter what type of person you are, I hope you choose quality. And I also hope you can find (or found) some peace during the festivities – whether you planned them to a tee or finished up 10 minutes before your guests arrived.

As individuals we all have differing perspectives and drivers, but together all our intricacies should come together harmoniously. After all, we are a species that thrives on social interaction.

What a beautiful time this is to remember that.