A prescription for holiday health.

Though many insist that holidays are for children, I beg to differ. When this season of the year arrives, I feel excitement bubbling up inside me. I look forward to getting together with family and friends, savoring special fellowship around the dinner table, late-night gabfests, brightly wrapped gifts, and special holiday music.

Call me an incurable romantic, but it's always been this way. Before I was old enough to know the months of the year, I sensed that something special was about to happen when jackets and scarves appeared in the hall closet and days became shorter. Soon there'd be a flurry of activity about the house as letters were written and telephone calls connected family all over the country. "Whose house shall we meet at this year? How many of you can come? Who'll be in charge of planning the menus? Shall we eat at Grandma's or rent the community hall?"

The first year we were married, it was just my wife and me for the holidays. We both had come from rather large and rowdy families and missed the excitement of having lots of relatives around, especially children. It's much more enjoyable to experience the holidays through the eyes of a child.

But the season can become less than enjoyable if the children--or anyone else in the family--become ill or bad tempered. Too much excitement, not enough sleep, off-routine activities, and eating too much rich food can change merry to miserable.

Our Great Physician has a remedy for such potential holiday ailments. He suggests that we be temperate in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25, KJV) *. That means staying away from anything injurious and limiting those things that are harmless. In other words, don't even think about the bad stuff, and go easy on the good.

You can help prevent holiday down time in your family by doing a little strategizing before the momentum of the season sweeps you away. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

LEAD THE WAY IN GIVING THANKS. Praising God generates good health. The psalmist David said this about Our Great Physician, "I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance (Psalm 42:11). At least 15 times in the Bible we are commanded to give thanks to the Lord. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever" (1 Chronicles 16:34).

Often, throughout the holiday season, remind your family how thankful you are for the treasures you cherish--the children, your home, food, friends, and freedom. Thankfulness is contagious. It generates a feeling of well-being in everyone around you. As a family activity, the children might enjoy writing out a prayer of thanks to God, illustrating it with their own artwork.

DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. It's been said that a person all wrapped up in himself makes a pretty small package. Comparing what we have with what everybody else has can make us feel discontented and cause complaining. Instead, work with your family to plan nice surprises for other people--a special card for a teacher, a bunch of flowers for the elderly neighbor, a food basket for a homeless family. These good deeds are doubly fun if they are done anonymously.

ESTABLISH SPECIAL FAMILY HOLIDAY TRADITIONS. If you don't have any family traditions, now is a great time to start (see "The Joy of Rituals" in this issue). Here are some more simple ideas to enhance your celebration:

1) Serve some of your meals by candlelight.

2) Sit on the sofa together and look through a family picture album.

3) Read a book together just before bedtime.

4) Have several cookie-making sessions with the children.

5) Teach your children the words of a holiday hymn.

6) Help your children produce a holiday play involving the entire family.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THE TRUE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOLIDAYS. There's more to the holiday season than pumpkin pie, parties, and presents. Hearts tend to soften and mellow during this time of the year. Don't miss out on any opportunity to educate and instill reverence and respect for what you're celebrating.

There is a wealth of information in the library, on the Internet, and in the Bible. Attend community activities, read to the children about the origins and significance of the holiday, plan a theme party for your children's friends, make window decorations for your home, play seasonal music, let the children help in special meal preparation, and be sure to attend your church's special programs. Remember the holiday prescription direct from Our Great Physician: be temperate and give thanks. Don't sit and passively watch the days go by. Grab a child and join the party.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

* All texts in this article are from the King James Version.

Richard O'Ffill celebrates the season in Longwood, Florida.