The holiday season is the one time of year that adults are allowed a modicum of whimsy. It’s a shame. As the old saying goes, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”
Door number 23 lets the whimsy fly.
December 23, 2025
When we were kids, we were encouraged to imagine flying reindeer from the North Pole landing on the roof. We knew each one by name. But as time passes, their names fade and we need to refer to poetry, stories, and songs to remind us. I wondered why that is until I realized that the imagination needs exercise like the rest of us. Use it or lose it.
The easiest way to get your imagination out of its recliner is to engage your sense of whimsy. Whimsy is imagination manifest. Let your mind wander a bit. Don’t think or rationalize, just be. Children have this skill mastered. If there are small humans in your life, watch and relearn.
Whimsy lives in the present. It requires releasing the past and future to fully embrace the moment at hand. Go for a stroll where there are lots of Christmas lights and be transported to another land and/or time. Read a story out loud and use different voices for the characters. There are so many ways to release imagination and engage whimsy. Each method is unique to the person who devises it.
I’ll share an example of mine. Today while running last minute errands for Christmas dinner, I saw a van parked with its rear doors open. Inside I discovered a moment of whimsy.
To me, the red jerry can in the back of the van looks like a face. If you look too long or study it, the illusion quickly falls apart. That’s the nature of whimsy. It’s fleeting, but joyful.
Do yourself a favor right now. Wake up your whimsy. Try to name St. Nick’s eight reindeer without Googling. Better yet, get some friends or family involved. Make up some names and try to convince your cohorts they’re real. Anyway, who’s to say they aren’t? Clement Clark Moore only named eight in his poem. The rest of them aren’t out there flying around anonymously! The best part is, you’ll find that whimsy is contagious. It will be soaring like the reindeer themselves.
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