Sometimes we need a little novelty to bring us up out of the pit of sentimentality. Maybe someone you love is gone, and Christmas brings out all the feelings of grief and longing; maybe your formerly cuddly little child whose eyes lit up with the magic and wonder of the season is now an adolescent or an adult who parcels out semi-obligatory hugs and has hormones or obligations and stresses of their own. Maybe it’s hard not to look back at comforting, familiar traditions of the past, and not grieve a little.

Of course, if we can, carrying a number of these traditions into the present can be meaningful and fun.

But there can also be great joy in trying something new. Like a new food, for instance. Like, say, Spam Figgy Pudding.

But! If you’re not game for the likes of Spam Figgy Pudding, what would be something new you haven’t done before? Something fun or meaningful, big or small? A new recipe? A new book, a new movie? A new tradition? A trip somewhere you’ve never been? With others? All alone, even if just for an afternoon?

Sometimes we’re forced to change things up—by circumstance or location—and that’s not always a negative. Find out why in this episode!

NOTES:
Dargatz, Jan. 52 Simple Ways to Make Christmas Special. Thomas Nelson, 1991.
Mercado, Mia. “I Can’t Shut Up About Spam Figgy Pudding.” The Cut., November 25, 2022.