Embracing Retirement-How Holiday Decorating Can Help You Enjoy Retirement While Building Family Traditions
Volume 23- The Many Benefits of Hobbies/Activities
Welcome back to my popular series about helping retirees enjoy their hard-earned retirement. It’s that time of year again, believe it or not. Mother nature has turned on the Winter switch here in Central NY State after a beautiful Fall. Last week I did my final lawn mowing and leaf cleanup; this week we have snow and I am putting up Christmas decorations! As I am writing this, the sun is setting and the temperature is around 20 with a stiff wind creating wind chills near 10 degrees. Yikes.
I have most of my Fall work done. There are still a few more chores that linger. I still have a few outdoor furniture pieces out by the firepit; I have to mulch the strawberries. Overall, I am in pretty good shape. As I’ve discussed before in my articles, I don’t understand how retirees can be bored. It’s one of the complaints I hear from retirees. However, I do have a large house and yard to take care of; I realize not everyone has that. I also have many hobbies, perhaps too many!
There are many more benefits to hobbies than meets the eye. More than just enjoying retirement
Holiday Decorating-A Great Activity For Retirees
I know. I know what you're thinking. It isn't even Thanksgiving yet. I’m guilty as charged. I’ve thrown away the pumpkins, gourds, and mums. I’ve taken down the fall leaf garlands with orange lights that were on the porch. When the family comes for Thanksgiving dinner, they will be greeted by Christmas decorations outside.
But not to worry. Inside we are still in full Fall mode. All the Fall decorations are intact including the seasonal tree with orange and white lights.
I must admit, my wife and I get carried away decorating for Christmas. Well not just Christmas. Outside and inside, we have decorations galore. We have a least four large trees and at least six smaller ones. Outside, both the back deck and front porch are lit with plenty of white mini lights, garlands, icicle lights, and even a few inflatables. Some day we will have to cut down. But for now, it keeps us busy this time of year.
It helps us to keep going and keep our minds off our worries. That’s the point of these types of activities and hobbies. It gives you a purpose. Now that we have grandchildren, it also gives us more incentive to put up the decorations. Our soon-to-be 5-year-old granddaughter just loves to look at all of the trees, decorations, and lights. I also put up a few inflatables outside on the deck that she especially enjoys. Grandkids are a good excuse to get carried away in so many ways.
The Key is To Keep Moving
This is good advice for seniors. Believe me, it’s not always easy. I try to keep moving with all my house, lawn, and garden chores. Now the transition to the holidays begins. With my knees and back, I struggle at times; but I find that keeping moving definitely helps. Also, when you're focusing on your tasks and hobbies, you tend to forget your worries, anxieties, and even aches and pains. Another advantage is the days go by quickly.
There’s More to the Story-Holiday Decorating is a Great Family Activity
Any activity that you can do with your family is worth its weight in gold. We all benefit when we spend time together. Its a challenge to find things to do with your children and/or grandchildren. Of course, the challenge is much greater when the kids are teenagers. I speak from experience. But its worth the effort to try to share these experiences and build your relationships and establish family traditions.
In regard to holiday decorating, as I discussed above, we tend to get carried away at our house. It’s a lot of work but we get enjoyment from it. It definitely makes holidays special. My wife and I use our experiences as children regarding holiday decorating to create our own traditions.
Building Family Traditions
As a retiree, there are many benefits to your hobbies. However, you are not the only beneficiary. When you share these activities with your children/grandchildren, you are building family traditions that can be passed down for generations. You may not realize it at the time. Your hobbies and ambitions can have long-lasting benefits.
As I mentioned above, teenagers can be challenging in many ways. In my experience, regarding holiday decorating, my children during the teenage years were not always thrilled about helping. But what is interesting, is that we started to see my son take interest in these traditions as he got older. My daughter not so much, and to this day as a grown adult, she doesn’t do any holiday decorating with her husband. However, my son now decorates for the various holidays with his partner and their kids, our grandchildren.
It is nice to see family traditions continue. This does not mean that I am disappointed in my daughter. Not in the least. I am very proud of both my children and they are both leading happy productive lives.
If you are happy in life, you are successful.
