One of the things which the busy-ness of the Christmas/Hanukkah season distracts us from is experiencing the unexpected delights that appear around us. When we’re so busy getting to here, sending things there, getting things done so we can do other things, we tend to not even see what is around us other than as an obstacle to what we are trying to do. We lose sight, as it were. The magic of the season isn’t just in arriving at the goal line with all our limbs attached. LOL It isn’t just in being with family and friends on that one day or these 8 magic days of light.
There is magic all around us that is sprinkled like stars in the sky or like glitter that has been tossed into the air. If we don’t have the energy to even look around us then we miss out. For example, on a recent trip to the coast I was driving to get coffee and breakfast in 
the bleary hours of the morning and besides noting that children still have to get up a God-o’clock in the morning to get to school in this last week before the holidays, I saw entire neighborhoods who has wrapped light poles with Christmas lights so the street was gently light with the colors of the season. And near my hotel there was a 50 ft pole that some group/company had made into a Christmas tree of light. Being who I am I was not only delighted by the effect, but also wondering how annoyed the neighbors were because you’d need black out curtains it is that bright and it’s right next to the beach so I pondered on how confusing that was for boats trying to navigate and did they have to get permission from the Coast Guard.
Having grown up next to the beach I think about these things which makes the delight even better because it seasons it with humor and a dash of sarcasm. 🙂 So as we get closer to the day, try to breath and keep enough space in your mind and your heart to notice the unexpected delights of the season. You won’t remember your to-do list in years to come. You will remember these.