***Put the Holiday Spirit in Your Marriage

By America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts .

Let’s face it, holiday lights help put you in the spirit of the season. Like the holiday lights, the people you love and who love you light up your life.

“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
‘Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.”

This very popular song's lyricist, Al Stillman, was born in New York and was a writer for Radio City Music Hall for 40 years. He had several other big hits, but this song, originally made popular by the great Perry Como, is perhaps, his most famous.

To our way of thinking, this is the perfect “love song” for the holidays! And here’s why.

In life, the people who love you the most are your parents, members of your family , your best friends, and, most importantly, the one you love – a spouse, a lover, a mate – the one you give your love to, unconditionally. Frankly, being in love, sharing your love with another, and having the love of important and significant people in your life, is the most cherished love of all.

It seems that the holiday season – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza – whatever your religious beliefs are – is a time of celebration. It is a time to be with family and friends. It is a time to be with the one you love. More importantly, it is a time for reflection on loving and being in love. It is a time to enhance your marriage with the joy of the season.

Over the years, we have been continuously impressed with the importance of being with family over the holiday season. Every couple in love we have interviewed over the past 30 years have pointed out to us how much they cherished time with the ones they love during the holiday season. And they will travel to great lengths to do so!

The holiday season reminds us all of what we have come to call “the caveats of life and love.” Namely, people need love, they need family , they need friends, and they need someone to give their love to. Make no mistake about it – people need people. People need to love and to be loved.

To state a refrain – there is no place like home for the holidays. Who says you can’t go home again? Certainly not someone in love! And if you come home to your family and friends with a new friend or a new lover for them to meet, you have added in a geometric way more love to your family, your friends, and yourself.

The truly wonderful thing about going home for the holidays is this – you are reminded over and over again how much you are loved and how much love you have to give. While you bask in the love from family, friends and your loved one this holiday season, remember that your capacity to give love is unlimited. This holiday season give the most cherished gift of all—give your love unconditionally to family, friends and the one you love.

Cherish your family, your friends, and your lover. There is no greater love. Enjoy the gift of love and of being loved.

Happy Holidays!

In love and marriage the simple things matter . Love well!

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz

For hundreds of tips to enhance your relationship get the Doctor’s best-selling and multiple-award winning book Building a Love that Lasts: The Seven Surprising Secrets of Successful Marriage (Jossey-Bass/Wiley 2010) Available wherever books are sold.
Winner of the INDIE Book Awards GOLD Medal for Best Relationship Book
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