Mr. Grinch & The Horrible Holiday Season 2020
Mr. Grinch & The Horrible Holiday Season is starting off on a bad foot! Christmas is right around the corner and a majority of retail stores will be selling their merchandise/products online. Are you guys ready to do some online shopping? Since the Corona virus is still lingering around, this could put a damper and bluesy Christmas on us consumers as well. What does this all mean? It means less travel, less cheerfulness and less money to spend on gifts! There will be more Mr.Grinches out to steal our joy! Although, it’s traditional to go out to the malls and do our shopping, this may be the safer alternative and keep our social distancing to a minimum. Wear your masks, ya filthy animal. Unfortunately, I see malls being dead for 2020. There will also be selective seating at restaurants during the holiday season.
Online Shopping & Promotions
The good news is, it will be less crowded and if you have a laptop, you can type away and shop! I’m almost positive a lot of stores will be having online promotions to boost their sales. We will be seeing pumpkin spice everything and winter spiced candles for sale. You wont catch me drinking a Starbucks grande latte. haha! How about ugly christmas sweaters for your holiday party? They are actually cute in a ugly kind of way. haha. The Alexa and blink mini will be selling like hotcakes! How about that kitchen set you have had your eyes on since last year? I know I like receiving and giving gift cards. I have my eyes on the 100% Natural Silk Pillowcase, which I plan on giving as gifts.
Holiday Season 2020 & Mr. Grinch Make The Most Of It!
The good thing about it is, Christmas 2020 can still be enjoyable. You don’t have to spend a fortune on expensive gifts and have a ton of family around. Simply start by loving the people around you Mr. Grinch or not. Have a good attitude and be appreciative on what you receive for Christmas. After all, It’s better to give then to receive. Right? You can spend time with your family in front of the fireplace or take a walk or car ride to see the festive lights. Have the whole family decorate the Christmas tree! Make it a family tradition to do it together. I usually have the girls help me decorate. Last year, Serena my middle child decorated the staircase all by herself. Make a yummy appetizer and put some holiday music on. Drink some eggnog and if your a drinker spice it up with rum. (not to much though, lol) The Barbell household also likes to bake! We enjoy baking pumpkin bars. It’s so yummy!
The Grinch Will Still Try to Linger Around
With all the cheer we can accumulate by staying positive via our holiday journey, we need to remain mindful that not everyone will be in good spirits. There are families that have lost their jobs due to the Corona Virus and are getting financial help to pay their bills. Then there are also the homeless who’s only concern is where they will sleep or eat for the day, not giving and receiving gifts. Depression and anxiety hit hard during the holiday season. To relieve your blues you could donate your time and love to a homeless shelter or orphanage. So my point is be grateful for what Holiday Season 2020 & Mr. Grinch brings you. It’s not just about gifts, but it is also about being joyful and bliss with family. Live in the present moment and count your blessings because not everyone has it good.
Poor kid on the street thinking of Christmas gifts – laying on the ground
picture credit: Nagy-Bagoly Arpad
Photo credit: The Bowery Mission How Are You Coping With Covid-19?
How are you coping with Covid-19? What seemed liked an easy process in the beginning, Covid-19 slowly started to become cumbersome. I have to honestly say that in the beginning when the virus just started getting notoriety, I was actually happy that we had to stay indoors. Juggles and multitasking became my first and middle name. Fast forward 2 months later…OMG! Is it over yet? With the kids being home schooled and their constant bickering…I was getting tired, and not to mention my time was limited to do what I needed to do.
Survival Mode
Now, I am doing better and having more patience and taking the necessary steps to make sure my family and I are safe and healthy. One thing to do is make sure you stock up on plenty of groceries and household items such as candles, hand sanitizer, shampoo and conditioner, tissue and the like. Healthy options for food if possible. You never know if the government decides to keep us home and temporarily close grocery stores One important factor to be considered during all of this is to be mindful and have a supply of masks, gloves and vitamins. If your like me, my masks always seem to disappear into thin air. lol. Girls, Have u seen my masks? No, mom! hmmm..I’m not so sure. Gloves are also useful, so we do not touch all those icky surfaces! Did I mention vitamins? I give my family Vitamin C, D and E to build their immune systems up!
Family Bonding Time
One thing I did learn from all this was to never take one another for granted. Even though I had my hands full and continue to stay busy, I would not trade it in for the world. I was able to connect with my family spirits on a new level. We were there for every wants and needs. That’s something you cant take away, the special bond of a family. We were also in one anothers hair and that wasn’t pretty either! lol When it was time to relieve some stress, we played the Wii and Just Dance 2 together. We did many things together such as baking, exercising, and board games. An everyday ritual of ours was walking Sophia our pit bull in the neighborhood or riding our bikes to the grocery store. How are you coping with Covid-19? So far so good, whats next?
My children from Left to right: Serena age 13, Cousin Grace (center)
Athena age 11 (black coat)
Amber age 19…My kids are my Life (another post on this soon)
