Hello again! I’ve missed you, dear Slow Christmasers. It’s been a season of changes for me — new job, new home. But one thing stays constant:  my abiding love for Christmas. I’m excited to get back in touch as we try to slow it down this year.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to start the holiday season with a lot of ambitious plans about making this the Best Christmas Ever (fruitcake that ages for a month anyone?) Not this year. I’m making a non-resolution:

Say it with me people!!!

I solemnly swear
that I will do less than last year
and enjoy it more.

I will not over-shop. I will not over-plan. I will carve to the bone the Thanksgiving turkey of my schedule to make the best feast of all:  free time. I will leave dishes in the sink to play with the cat. I will skip obsessing over baking the perfect cookies and go out for a cocktail with the spouse instead. I will sleep in.

I’m curious to hear what you did with your extra hour today. In an unusual turn of events, the spouse and I were both on deadline this weekend, and starting to get a bit stir crazy. So he proposed a walk around the neighborhood around dusk.  When we returned, I was delighted to see that there was still plenty of time to make dinner. Apparently, we’re not the only ones. People around the nation are enjoying the gift of an extra hour. Apparently, there are fewer car accidents and heart attacks the week after the clocks fall back. Researchers attribute it to all of us getting an extra hour of sleep. Think about that for a moment. We are so sleep-deprived that an extra hour actually has an appreciable impact on the number of sleep-related illnesses and accidents. Yikes.

I say it’s time we take charge of this situation. It’s time we goof off! Let’s play truant from the little things that no one notices, the leading an A+ life stuff. Let’s shoot for a respectable B this year. Call up a friend you never see and plan a Very Important Business Lunch on a Tuesday so the two of you can catch up. Send the kids to their friend’s house and curl up with a bowl of popcorn and watch the latest episode of Nashville or dork out on a classic baseball game you’ve seen a million times. Take advantage of the early darkness to leave the office early for once.

Stick around for lots of holiday cheer to follow, like what to do with all those holiday-themed catalogs you’re getting, books to read, holiday drinks, and guest posts galore.

In the meantime, what’s your non-resolution this year?

Here’s Tyrone modeling a perennial favorite.