Still December

My newest, favorite holiday tradition is to keep a basket of treats stocked outside my home for my local delivery workers. It's nice to see the happiness that this act of kindness brings, as we can see via viral videos depicting surprised postal workers' reactions (thank you Ring camera for eavesdropping).

Understandably, deliveries have increased this year, culminating in the year-end madness of holiday gift-giving, tinged with COVID fears. My girlfriend Barb from Bend, OR, shipped all her Christmas gifts on November 15 because she simply had the time to do it early. She’s hoping people don’t forget where they put these gifts if their tree isn’t up yet, but chances are the tree is up. The day after Halloween, my sister’s neighborhood in White Bear Lake, MN went full-blown Christmas with every house trying to outdo their neighbor with a flurry of lights. This neighborhood leaves hot chocolate out for service people, and they take up a gift card collection for the delivery, trash, and snowplow workers. This gratitude is deserved, and well-received.

After New Year Eve things will stay extra busy across the US with returns and weather-related needs. Keeping that basket of treats out until February, or even year-round might be one of the better results of this pandemic.

@bethbacall

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