I’ve done my best this year (as I always do), to avoid Christmas celebrations altogether.

Actually, even though I was a reluctant angel in the annual Christmas play at preschool (yes, that’s a four year old me in the photo… don’t you just love the combo of the bored face, droopy wings and crooked halo… for me it totally sums up the results when I try my best to “be good” and do what everyone expects of me, instead of following my idea of fun!)… but as I was saying, even though I was a reluctant angel, I haven’t always been a Christmas grouch…

I only started that after I experienced Christmas beyond our family and friends for the first time when we went to live in the UK for a few years.

Until then, Christmas was just a fun day when we got together with our extended family, swapped a few gifts, had an array of cold meats, salads and desserts (always EXACTLY the same menu), then the adults would retire to beds and sofas around the house for an afternoon nap and the kids would swim in the pool all afternoon, until our skin was all wrinkly and white, and we’d be allowed to stay up too late, eating sweets and playing with our toys because it was a holiday. And we’d rinse and repeat with the left-over food and friends the next day.

Okay, so there was also the annual nativity play at school, a pine tree and a few decorations (mostly the stuff we made out of toilet rolls and cereal boxes when we were in preschool, saved by my mother and pulled out in a worse and worse state each year), and yes, we swapped gifts. But it wasn’t a particularly big deal.

Maybe it was because we were a 3-kid family and living fairly modestly, maybe it was because snowy, winter-ey Christmases and reindeers didn’t really resonate that much when I’d never seen a reindeer or the snow. Christmas falls smack in the middle of summer in Cape Town and there are no Christmas decorations with sunny beaches, African animals and people with colored complexions. Maybe it was because South Africa was rather insulated during the Apartheid years and what with the sanctions, the commercial Christmas culture didn’t really seem to have made its way into South Africa until about 5 or 6 years ago. There were a few quiet attempts at carol-singing in the park and Christmas lights in the street, a bit of mangy tinsel in the stores, but it was all pretty laid back.

And then I spent my first Christmas away from family, working at Harrods in London, UK.

Yes, the Knightsbridge one. In the Christmas decorations department. And man, was that an eye-opening experience! I just couldn’t believe the decorations people bought and the crazy expense of Christmas for some people. I met people who said that they choose a decoration theme and buy brand new Christmas decorations and throw out the old ones each year. And we’re talking hundreds of pounds worth of new Christmas decorations each year! I met a couple who told me they have a special room in the house, just for storing their Christmas decorations, because they have so many. And during the sale in January, I watched people literally tackle each other to grab the discounted boxes of decorations, as we were bringing them out. The store made a policy that only male staff were allowed to put out the boxes of discounted decorations because there was such a rush of people and such violent grabbiness that they were worried that the female staff would get knocked over and hurt.

Since then I’ve experienced Christmas in a few different parts of the world, with extended family and friends and watched stressed out families argue over decorations, food, gifts, party plans and making sure that the family got their annual Christmas professional photos taken in front of the over-adorned Macy’s Christmas tree in time for their personally printed Christmas cards to go out with the family picture on it.

When I say I’ve wanted to avoid Christmas – that’s the Christmas I want to avoid!

And for many of the years that Andy and I have been married, we’ve been traveling just the two of us, and so we’ve been able to easily make Christmas a quiet, chilled out event. No gifts, no over-eating, no decorations and no drama. Sadly, we’ve also had very few friends or family with us though!

Being back in South Africa with all our family and a lot of our long-time friends for Christmas this year will make this a very different Christmas for us. At first, as the Christmas party invitations rolled in, I started to feel a bit anxious as I thought of the possibility of getting sucked into Christmas drama… but you, know, it didn’t take long for me to realize that things haven’t changed much with our family and friends here.

In spite of the increased Christmas commercialism in the shops, I’m pleased to report that my Christmas will be as chilled out and drama-free as ever. It took about a minute for everyone to agree on a “no presents rule” and this year, and our main Christmas event will be a pool-side braai (South African barbecue) with Andy and my family all together, a week before Christmas because we’ll be en-route to our building project in the Eastern Cape on Christmas day. No gifts, and everyone will bring a dish to share, so nobody will have to stress over the menu. Just some chilled out quality time together. And instead of giving gifts to friends and family who have everything they need and want, the giving we’re doing this year is to people who live in ridiculously poor conditions in a remote rural community in the Eastern Cape – people who really need everything we can give. Now that’s my kind of Christmas!

So here’s wishing you a chilled out, drama-free holiday period filled with all the stuff that endures and really matters (love, friendship, joy, peace, quality time with loved ones, laughter) and lean on all the stuff that doesn’t (decorations, gifts, and all the “stuff” you don’t really need and which just weighs you down and prevents you from living the agile life you want to live).

And because I’m not a total Christmas grouch, and to thank you all for all your love and support this year, there’s just one other holiday gift I am giving this year… and it’s for all of you…

When you sign up for a 6-month Bottom-line Bookclub Membership Subscription (before 18 Dec), I’ll give you another one free…

You can:

- Give it to your favorite personal development junkie friend
- Split it with a coaching buddy
- Give it to a Social Worker or professional who works at a charity as a thank you for all they do
- Give both away if you’re feeling generous!
- Or think of it as buying the subscription for your friend and giving yourself a much-deserved gift

Either way, you can enjoy spreading the love…

Two 6-Month Silver Memberships for the price of 1: £49 (about $80)

That’s just £24.50 (about $40) each if you split it with a friend, which works out at only about £4 (about $6.50) for each month

Two 6-month Gold Memberships for the price of 1: £89 (about $146)

That’s just £44.50 (about $73) each if you split it with a friend, which works out at only about £7 (about $11.50) for each month

How it works

• When you sign up, you’ll receive two gift subscription certificates. Keep one and give the other away, or give both away if you wish, or sign up with a friend, splitting the cost and gifting yourselves a membership.
• The recipients of the gift certificates will click on the subscription link in their certificate, to register and activate their subscription, and their subscription will start on the day they do that.

As a digital gift, it’s perfect for fellow like-minded peeps who live agile – friends abroad, travelers, tree-lovers, minimalists and personal development junkies.

Should I get the Gold or Silver Membership?

Both Gold and Silver Membership will give you the Bottom-line on the precious 20% that’ll get you 80% of the results you want, and step-by-step coaching to help you use the highest-leverage change tools in your own life, just like I give my one-to-one coaching clients.

Gold membership will also get you the author interviews, access to all the Bottom-line Bookclub archives and with this special offer you’ll still get full access to the 30% discount on all things Mine Your Resources – an awesome deal if you’ve been considering signing up for some coaching with me in the new year.

Gold Memberships are Limited

If you’re considering the Gold Membership option, then move quickly, because I’ve decided to limit the Gold Memberships. Since Gold Membership includes 30% off all things Mine Your Resources, which includes coaching, and I only have limited hours in the day to coach and want to make sure that I can follow through on my commitment to Gold Members, I’ve decided to limit Gold Membership to 40 people. I don’t know how long it’ll take for those spots to fill up, but when they’re gone, they’re gone.

And yes, my money-back guarantee applies, as always.

Click here to check the exact exchange rate for your currency if you’re not paying in GBP.

Of course, you don’t “need” this, and neither do your friends, for you to have a chilled out, feel-good, share-the-love Christmas holiday.

You can have that anyway, if you choose. But if you’ve been thinking about joining the Bottom-line Bookclub or wanting to find a unique gift for your special friend or coaching buddy who you always have all those deep-and-meaningful “what’s life really about?” and “how can I be my best me?” conversations, then here’s an opportunity to get 2 subscriptions for the price of 1.

Okay, so I’m not a total Christmas grouch!

New to the Bottom-line Bookclub?

You can find out how the Bottom-line programs help book-addicts, personal development junkies and life coaches to stop just collecting more information and to start using the highest-leverage ideas and change tools to change lives, and what people are saying about the Bottom-line Bookclub over here.

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