While most people thrive on the holiday hustle and bustle of parties, crowded malls and family gatherings, we introverts would rather hide away with easy-listening Christmas music in the glow of a tree—alone.
It’s not that we’re the incarnation of The Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge or Henry Potter all rolled into one big “Humbug.” It’s not that we hate Christmas and all the Whos in Whoville. It’s simply that the holiday activities tend to suck us as dry as a year-old fruit cake. Extroverts—the ones singing “Santa Baby” at the office Christmas party—charge their emotional batteries by being with people. We introverts recharge by being alone.
So, how can introverts survive the holiday drain?
Come out as in introvert
Let your family and friends know that you’re an introvert and, as much as you love them, being constantly with people drains you.
Take Christmas activities in small bites
Have the courage to limit your holiday activities. If you go to a Christmas party, feel free to leave early. Or do like I do, and make the bathroom a brief respite. Some silence and deep breathing gives me shot of energy.
Do your Christmas shopping online
I try to avoid the shopping crowds. Black Friday would be my worst nightmare! So, I make most of my purchases online. They will deliver gifts right to my door! Spend the time you would have spent at the mall in your PJs with a mug of hot chocolate.
Block out time alone
When my wife was pastoring, I would hide away in the church sound booth at night, sit in the dark with just the lights on the Bethlehem set and listen to Mannheim Steamroller. With the spotlight on the manger and the music filling the sanctuary, it was my time to get recharged for Sunday services and the candlelight Christmas eve service.
Even as a kid, I would get up early while it was still dark and simply sit in the light of the Christmas tree. I loved the lights—and silence.
Use these times to fully charge your battery so you can have energy for all the activities.
So while your friends are “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” enjoy a “Silent Night.”
Copyright © 2018 James N. Watkins
For more hope and ho! ho! ho! visit The 12 Sites of Christmas
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