This year, give the gift of kindness to a Grinch

Trying to celebrate the holidays at work was an extremely frustrating experience for me last year.
In their zeal to maintain separation of church and state, someone at my former school had decided the only thing we could celebrate in December was winter.
So, I went to Wal-Mart and purchased snowmen and lots of fluffy, shiny stuff in as many non-religious, bright colors as I could find. Then, I stayed late one afternoon and covered the bulletin board outside our classroom with all sorts of winter decorations.
While I was standing on a chair, stapling Frosty to the wall, I noticed another teacher peering out of the mailroom. She looked a little too interested in my decorating frenzy.
The following morning, I was politely informed by the administration that my bulletin board posed a fire hazard to the school and had to come down immediately.
There is no doubt in my mind who ratted me out. For the remainder of the school year, I gave my nosy co-worker my own private nickname: the Grinch.
Grinches like watching the tinsel come down rather than being excited the moment it goes up. They complain about the crowds while everyone else enjoys the excitement that stirs the air throughout the month of December.
Instead of enjoying holiday goodies, they talk about how fattening everything is and bring up a phrase that should never be uttered before Dec. 31: New Year's resolutions.
I have come up with a way for people to fight off the Grinches in their own lives by declaring the first week of December "Give a Grinch a Gift Week."
If there is someone in your life who is trying to rain on your parade this year, pick them up a gift and deliver it with a smile. They will probably be shocked by your actions.
If you are lucky, you might just have the same effect on your Grinch as the characters in that Dr. Seuss classic. That would make the winter holiday much more pleasant for all of us.
(Zich is a military spouse who lives in Springfield, Va. You may e-mail her at homefront@stripes.osd, or visit her Web site, www.lifeonthehomefront.com.)