A little while ago, a male friend of mine told me that all the Christmas hustle and bustle has no appeal for him - it just leaves him cold. He sounded a little despondent about the fact that he just couldn't get into the mood of it all. As I listened to him, it occurred to me that most of the people I know who are really "into" Christmas are female! His comment did, however, lead me to wonder why this phenomenon occurs. With only a moment of thought, it was not difficult to discover that Christmas was actually made to order for females. At no other time of the year do we get to celebrate, unashamedly and with worldwide endorsement, by doing two things women love most … shopping and decorating!

Think about it for a moment. The Thanksgiving holiday ushers in a month-long spellbinding shopping spree as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is cold. We begin the decorating frenzy the day after Thanksgiving while the leftover turkey is still waiting to be reconstructed. With glazed over eyes, we frantically dash out to buy that one item that signifies the tip-off … the toss-up … the dropped puck that marks the beginning of the game of decorating decadence for women - the Christmas tree.

Each year, we choose a different theme for the tree. Last year our tree symbolized toyland for tots, so this year we can't possible use that theme again. (No one will ever accuse us of being creatively challenged.) This year we must have something totally different like, perhaps, a Victorian Christmas. And, of course, 99% of those items we purchased for the tree last year will have to go or wait for the cycle to come full circle again in several years. This year, though, we spend hours upon hours seeking out and purchasing the perfect new pastel pink and white everythings to set just the right mood for this year's inspiration piece. And the men quietly wait on the sidelines.

Once the tree has been chosen and duly bedecked, we get to begin another round … another quarter … another first down in the shopping game. We get to buy gifts for anyone and everyone we know or might need to know or want to know in the coming year. Does life get any better than this? Yes!!! After the gifts are purchased, we get to buy or create beautiful and unique packaging with lots of ribbons and bows and curly things. What woman wouldn't want and look forward to this all year? And what man would? Of course, in the midst of it all, you can always do something that both males and females would enjoy -- such as purchasing a storage building … for all of last year's decorations.

Well, whatever your gender, whatever your temperament, whatever holiday you celebrate --- Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Ramadan, here's hoping you and yours will enjoy and celebrate the time and love you have together.

For comments or inquiries you can send email to Kara Lynn