Hissy Fit - November 2026 - Make it Extra Special: Attitude, Effort & a Little Black Friday

November 2026 Issue
by Elizabeth Skenes Millen

The key to an extra special holiday season is based on two things: Attitude and effort. Did you just say Bah Humbug? Well, it’s true. Like I said in the first article back on page 10, what you get out of something is equivalent to what you put into it. I have had Christmases when just getting out the holiday dish towel practically did me in. But not this year. I refuse to let politics, social media and sour attitudes steal my holidays. With that, I’m getting on the roof to help Clark Griswold really light up the neighborhood—watch out property owners association!

Is it possible to be sick of convenience? Can’t anything be challenging anymore? Some things need to be convenient, like breakfast on a Monday morning, but giving thanks and celebrating the Lord’s birthday? Not so much. Nor should decorating and shopping for the people you love most—your friends your family, yourself.

Some say ordering online is easier. I don’t agree because to me it’s a lot like Netflix—you spend more time scrolling to figure out what to watch, than actually watching. Online shopping is the same…scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. You know the Internet was designed to addict you—hence the gazillions of bottomless pages. That’s probably how Google (the search engine company) got its name—from the word Googol, coined in the late ‘30s by a mathematician as the largest number known (googolplex = 10 to the power of googol, which is 1 to the 100th power, which equals 1 with 100 zeros following). Trust me, it’s more than any of us can count. However much it is, I don’t want to get caught in its WEB. Besides, I love shopping local and the many advantages it brings: Have you heard about the Pink Holiday Shop Hop?!

Holiday Spirit!
You can’t smell the aromas of the season—spiced pumpkin, warm apples, exotic cinnamon, hot chocolate, yummy lattes, Dior J’adore—through the WEB. I want to smell it, see it, feel it, hear it…be in the midst of it! I want to tell strangers Merry Christmas (and, obviously, people I know, too). You’re probably picturing me as ELF right now, but I’m just tired of the lackadaisical approach to life our society has fallen prey to. Even the word
lackadaisical is made from two dismal words—lack and daze. Thank you to all the retailers who still take time to fill your shops with holiday cheer. Your effort is appreciated, and you make our holidays better because of it!

The opposite of lackadaisical is enthusiasm.
You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. In fact, I always pick a word to live by for the year, and I’m going to go ahead and call it for life—enthusiasm! Take that, you cuddly-as-a-cactus, small-hearted grinch with garlic breath. Do you know the magic you can create when you combine ability with enthusiasm—Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Whatever you love to do for the holidays, kick up your enthusiasm this year, and surprise everyone, including yourself, with your stellar brilliance. Things are always better when you do them like you mean it. If you’re going to decorate, channel your inner Martha Stewart. If you’re going to bake, invite Julia Childs into the sweet spot of your soul. If you’re going to wrap, slay those bows like Jennifer Lopez. Wait. That’s beaus but still done with immense enthusiasm.

If you’ve got the ability, you’ve got it all.
One year, I was disabled with a back injury for the five months. So, I will never forget how the pain stopped me in my reindeer tracks. Since I’ve gotten better, I want to be all I can be and do all I can do. I don’t need to shop online because it doesn’t hurt too much to walk anymore. I don’t need curbside pickup because, praise God, I can shop without the grocery cart doubling as a walker. I actually want to park far away from the entrance just so I can walk a little extra. It’s amazing how valuable something becomes when you may lose it. Girl, strut your stuff, and get your shopping swag on! Where else are you going to wear that cute Christmas sweater with earrings to match?

Change your attitude, change your world!
Attitude sets the mood for everything. I’m a Black Friday shopper. It’s fun and gives me much fodder to write about, as well as some life lessons. For instance, I was in Midway, Georgia, a few years ago at International Paper’s annual holiday warehouse sale. They made the most beautiful cards, stationery, calendars, gift bags, wrapping paper and gift tags. (They moved to Memphis, so this event is no longer.) Upon entering, they gave us a large, construction-grade, black trash bag, knowing everyone would fill it up with goodies. Of course Meredith (my ex-sister-in-law but we still like each other) and I filled our bags. As we were struggling to get our annual bounty to the car, a woman walked by and said just like a good ball coach, “Lift with your legs, Ladies. Lift with your legs.” We cracked up laughing, but have never forgotten her sage advice. You can’t say that us women don’t stick together! And, You know who else has great attitudes, and you would never know about this unless you embrace Black Friday? The girlfriends/families who have matching T-shirts made specifically for Black Friday shopping. These women have formed teams, squads, and allegiances. If one of them gets to a Black Friday air-fryer deal before you, and you aren’t on their squad, you will not be air-frying any chicken come December 26. I respect these T-shirt ladies—so dull of team spirit, effort, and enthusiasm!

I hope I have revved you up for your best holidays ever. If you see me out shopping or drive by my house all lit up (the house, not you), be sure to shout out a holiday greeting—please don’t use your finger, and if it’s not nice, just mumble and smile. All in all, I’m just happy to be here to reignite effort, enthusiasm, and attitude—those crazy vowel words that change everything just by choosing to embrace (another vowel word) them.

Give me an E! Give me an A! What do you get (other than Elizabeth turned ELF)?
One great holiday season. Enjoy like never before.