Unplug the Christmas Machine

At Christmas time, the busy wife, mother and career woman kicks into overdrive. She feels the need to maintain her usual roles while bringing the magic of a perfect Christmas to her family, work place, and church. If your Christmas cards routinely include an apology for being late and half of your holiday decorations are still in the attic, you are not alone. Let's admit it, the perfect holiday season should include a week off from work in early December. This book can be a life saver, as it helps you focus on what parts of the holiday season are really important to you. I find the layout of the book easy to use and the structure it provides is priceless.

THis is the best book I have ever read on how to handle Christmas. Some books on this subject get so psychological that one wants to check into a hospital and forget Christmas. I am ordering it for all the family - one copy each.

While I felt overwhelmed with the Christmas machine, I didn't want to give up everything. This book helped me identify what mattered to me and my family. I especially liked the ideas on how to pace the holiday. This suited me much better than the "Simplify Christmas" book which seemed to me to consist more of reasons not to have a tree, send cards etc. than identify what to keep and what to change.

Since reading Unplug the Christmas Machine when it was first published several years ago, my family and I have scaled way back materially at Christmastime. As a result, we're less stressed and have more time to spend together doing the things we really enjoy, such as going to holiday concerts, singing carols, baking goodies, reading in front of the fire, writing letters, etc. This book will help your whole family "unplug" from the out-of-control juggernaut that is Christmas in the U.S. It also makes a great gift for friends and family who might need permission to simplify their lives during the holidays.

Simplifying the holidays.... Adding joy to a season of intense busy-ness.... Bringing the spiritual aspects of Christmas into clearer focus.... These are all topics covered in this wonderful book---plus much more! Don't wait until December to order this book. The sooner you read it, the easier it will be to make any necessary changes to your personal holiday celebrations.