“DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TANGLE!” CHRISTMAS TIME REFLECTION and a LIFE LESSONS for every day of the year!

Childhood Christmas memories that can give you life lessons when you’re older looking back at them:

The Christmas countdown is upon us. For some it is exciting and for some it’s a reminder of how few days they have left to do so many things.  However it makes you feel, I invite you to join me each of the 12 days till Christmas, as I share daily Christmas Reflections and of course an accompanying Christmas image! (I just love taking photos & sharing pictures so it’s only right each post is inspired by my own photos.)

Today’s chosen image is of a Christmas Mug that caught my eye while out shopping, clearly not for its beauty or magnificence but for its slogan; “DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TANGLE”.

For me, this slogan instantly gave me flashbacks of my Dad sitting on the living room floor trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights. Every year my Mom would say “Why don’t we just buy some new lights” because to her it looked like an impossible, annoying task or a boring waste of precious time as there was so much on her mind ‘To Do’ list to do instead so all is ready for Christmas Day.

Yet my father saw it as less of a chore and more of a challenge. He actually enjoyed untangling them as if it was a quest on Crystal Maze (a puzzle-solving game show for those that don’t know it.) Once he’d gotten through the untangling process, then came the testing of the lights to see if they all lit up or some bulbs needed replacing. Sure enough most years there were new bulbs needed, but once replaced they worked perfectly.

It posed a question to ask ourselves today:

“Are we REPLACERS or RESTORERS?”

Would we throw our tangled tinsel away and buy new untangled tinsel, or would we give it time, patience, concentration and TLC to try to untangle our tinsel?

It made me realise that we do this the rest of the year too, some of us see buying new things as an easier solution and others see fixing the old so they work again as the answer. My conclusion is both are useful reactions but to different things in life. Sometimes “Replace the old with the new” is the right trail of thought, other times “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side” is needed to remind us to work on what we have instead of what else we could have instead.

We just need the wisdom to know the difference and when we need to be restorers or replacers!

Who knew a quote on a Christmas mug that initially made me laugh, would then bring Christmas memories to mind that would create such questions as these?! Lol

Day 1 of 12 days of Christmas Reflections

Click here for the whole CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS COLLECTION to have a quick read of them & they are all relevant to make this the BEST CHRISTMAS DAY ever, with perspective, clarity and a joyful heart. Or see below for a list of all my short reflections & click on the title you’d like to read:

• “PRESENCE over PRESENTS”
• “LIFE IS LIKE A FRAGILE ORNAMENT”
• “EVEN SAND CAN STAND WHEN ITS DESIGNED TO FALL”
• “Trying to stay STABLE, while we celebrate the Stable!”
• “Remember the small stuff”
• “Keep OLD Traditions but don’t forget to make NEW ones!”
• Remembering the REASON for the SEASON!
• ‘Christmas Cheer’ A Christmas Acrostic Poem encapsulating the Christmas Season.

Here is my ‘CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR’ board on Pinterest you are welcome to follow:

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