Nowhere in the series of holidays during the year do you see the FRENZY that comes about with Christmas and New Year's. The purchase of gifts alone could be almost be looked at as "forced buying" pushed by all the merchants. I used to feel with decorating and traveling and spending money when I at least hit December 26th, the real peace on earth and sanity restored was that point in time.
I had always heard that if you have NO EXPECTATIONS you will have no disappointment. Expectations at the holidays time for family or the way things should be no question can stress us out to the point of wanting to pull your hair out. The expectations thinking is really a learning tool to practice going with the flow, letting go, not being so hard on yourself and others.
I really think to have the most enjoyable time with some down time is to have SOME expectations but not so high you just feel awful when things go a different way. Temper your expectaions and focus on PEOPLE and good memories, not an outcome.
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