The holiday season is upon us.

How is that even possible? I’m still emotionally unpacking Pumpkin Spice, and you want me to start decking the halls?

For me, Christmas doesn’t start until December 1st. Not a second before. Here’s the thing, though—I do love the holidays. I just want November to be November, with it’s gratitude, thankfulness, and elastic waistbands, before we turn on the Christmas Cheer.

But for me, that is where the trouble starts—it’s not just the gift-giving. I’m fully here for the lights, the parties, the eggnog, and those fancy Honeybell oranges that only show up once a year. Every year, I make the lists, create a Pinterest board of recipes, shop for a festive dress, and play Tetris with my calendar trying to “be there” and “go here” and “make time.” I love all of it. Except, well… I kind of don’t. I get totally overwhelmed by the endless “must-dos” of the season.

I want Christmas to be this perfect, magical experience, but it’s not. Christmas is messy. Christmas is complicated. And I don’t think it’s just me. We’re fed this idea that it’s supposed to be shiny and bright, but for so many of us, it’s more like a mirage—an illusion of joy that never fully arrives. Behind the pretty lights and sparkly wrapping, there’s a lot of pretending. We pretend we’re happy. We pretend we have it all together. We give more than we have, we stretch ourselves thinner than we should, and we roll into the New Year feeling depleted.

Here’s the truth: No matter how much we want to fix everything, we can’t. Christmas is still going to be hard for some of us. We’re still going to feel loss. We’re still going to have wishes that don’t come true. But what if we could lean into that, instead of away from it? What if we could let the imperfection connect us, instead of letting it break us?

So this year, I’ll be here—with my burnt cookies, my scraggly tree, and probably wearing last year’s holiday dress with last year’s holiday stain. And instead of obsessing over the perfect gift, I’ll give what really matters: time and real connection. I’ll ask the hard, important questions: How are you? What do you need? Are you OK? And when I need a dose of cheer, I’ll flip through these pages, finding inspiration in the kaleidoscopic beauty of  Michelle Donato’s home or the brilliant smiles of the West Orange High School’s Unified Cheer team. And then maybe —just maybe—I’ll let go of trying to make everything perfect and focus on simply showing up, messy flaws and all. Because that’s what this season really needs—us, as we are.

Heather Anne Lee
Editor