By Lisa Smartt
Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 8:01 pm

Uh-oh. I forgot. I forgot to do all the things I was gonna do before the holidays arrived. Like before Thanksgiving, I was gonna completely clean out all the kitchen cabinets, get rid of that bent muffin pan I’ve had since the late ’80s, wipe the crumbs out of the silverware drawer, give away the George Foreman grill and try to find the lid to the two-quart saucepan. I was also gonna clean all the broken lasagna noodles out of the pantry. But it totally slipped my mind.
I also forgot to clean out all the closets, which is a very important pre-holiday activity. That means I didn’t throw out those flattened little pieces of used Christmas wrapping paper I save on Dec. 26 every year and throw out the following October. It also means I didn’t take inventory of all the presents I got through the year that can be recycled as good Christmas gifts. What? Do I believe it’s OK to re-gift items that were given to me? Oh, absolutely. Are you kidding? I run a virtual shopping mall out of my hall closet. No credit card required. Fragrance. Home décor. Jewelry. Plush purple house shoes. You name it. I like to call it “passing on a blessing.” Yeah. In the south, you can get away with anything as long as you use the term “blessing” when describing the activity. And I’m not embarrassed to tell the giver of the gift either. Oh no. Don’t hide your head in shame, friend. In January, feel free to say to your favorite aunt, “I just LOVED that zebra candle set, Aunt Gladys, but I passed it on to my friend, Louise, because I wanted to ‘bless’ her with it. She’s going through a hard time right now and she stood in need of a ‘blessing.’” See? You’re home free now because you “blessed” someone with it. Aunt Gladys is tickled to death because she doesn’t care where the candles are located. She just wanted them to be a “blessing” to someone. The fact that Louise has black and white striped wall paper in her living room and a ceramic elephant collection on the coffee table … well, you knew it was God’s will for her to have a set of zebra candles. You’re sensitive like that. Holiday mission accomplished.
I also forgot to do any pre-holiday shopping. I have friends on Facebook who are bragging about being DONE with their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. Well, let me tell you something, highly industrious Type A friends. You may be done with some kind of shopping. But it was NOT Christmas shopping. If you bought gifts for loved ones while you were wearing flip flops and while there was still a kiosk of suntan lotion on Aisle 3, you were NOT Christmas shopping. Christmas shopping happens for me every year when I make a late night run to Walgreen’s to buy Snuggies, egg cookers and other “As Seen On TV” products. Throw in a Whitman’s Sampler and everyone will love you and not care that you did your purchasing on Christmas Eve. Chocolate tends to “bless” people.
I may not have accomplished much in preparation this year. But it’s not too late. I can still rejoice and give thanks to God for a year of blessing. I hope you join me in that endeavor. Happy Thanksgiving!
For more information about Lisa Smartt, visit her website lisasmartt.com.

Published in The Messenger 11.24.10