Conspira Cy theories

Conspire to take back the holidays

It’s hard to believe that the Christmas/Hanukkah season is upon us already! Where has the year gone? It seems like just yesterday we were complaining about the record heat of summer. Halloween and Thanksgiving have whizzed by, and here we are in the season of lights.

Every year, our family gives lip service to the idea of a simpler, kinder season. We into a season of stress, traffic jams and shopping lists. And when it’s over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?”

Advent Conspiracy asks us to focus on four themes (which we are going to adopt for the four Sundays of Advent): Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All.

How is it possible to spend less but give more? Here’s the key: We spend less money, but we give more time — time to write that long awaited letter, time spent with the kids, time to bake “really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols.” complain about holiday advertising that begins before Halloween (kudos to Nordstrom’s, which has made the decision to wait until after Thanksgiving). We discuss the increasing commercialism of Christmas and wonder whether there is a way of making this more truly a time of giving — not so much things as love, and we wonder how to do that. In our family, we have agreed to take the pressure off each other, because we want our celebrations to be less about spending money and more about spending time and attention on the special people in our lives.

In planning this year’s Christmas season at church, I have discovered a wonderful new movement called “Advent Conspiracy.” Its goal is to make Christmas less commercial and less frenzied in order to concentrate on the true meaning of the season.

According to adventconspiracy.org, “what was once a time to celebrate the birth of the savior has somehow turned

In other words, this season can be a time to spend more love on each other, and on those less fortunate. The kids may complain about the idea at first, but my guess is that together you will end up making memories they will take long into their adulthood — memories of parents, family and friends who actually had time for them in this otherwise fast-paced world.

Maybe I’m idealistic. Maybe I’ve got too many sugarplum fairies cavorting in my crowded cranium. But I like the idea. I really like it — enough to give it a try.

Yes, it’s sort of countercultural. My friends may think I’ve lost it, quitting the Christmas Merry Go Round. They’re right it is countercultural. That’s why it’s a conspiracy. A conspiracy of love, a conspiracy of time.

Have a blessed season — one that brings you closer to the people and the ideals that matter most.

Listen to an interview with the rev. BLair Monie explaining why his church has joined the Advent Conspiracy movement, and how congregants are putting its tenets into practice. Visit prestonhollow.advocatemag.com/podcast.

Festival fun

Dressed as “international beauties,” Annalise McGovern , Ella McGovern and Campbell Frazier enjoy festivities during the Halloween party held by the North Dallas Early Childhood PTA at Peter Pan Park.

Sold!

Louis Murad , a fast-talking auctioneer and Preston Hollow resident, helped raise $770,000 for cancer research at this year’s Cattle Baron’s Ball live auction, the largest single-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, held at Southfork Ranch. The annual event has raised $43 million in 37 years. Murad graduated from Jesuit Preparatory School and Southern Methodist University.

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