Timely Topic: How To Take on Holiday Season’s Pleasures, Pitfalls, Pledges

11.30.2022

Dying Hard on the Christmas Movie Blitz

Christmas-themed movies seem to begin airing earlier every year. Whether it’s “Home Alone” in all its iterations, the Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas or any number of classic offerings, one can always find a holiday movie to watch 24/7.

So, what magic makes these holiday movies so wildly popular?

Dr. Kenneth Brewer, associate professor of instruction in literature in the School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology at The University of Texas at Dallas, said it’s all about nostalgia, the comfort of a feel-good story and a desire to fully experience the holiday season.

“Many of these films are very comforting,” he said. “They’re typically full of sentimentality and nostalgia.”

Brewer said the Hallmark Christmas movie genre is a phenomenon. He said such films have a comfortable formula and provide an “escapist” outlet. Ironically, he said, they are watched sometimes because “they’re so bad that they’re good.”

He also noted that Americans’ taste in Christmas films is very situational.

“I may like European art films for most of the year and Hallmark movies at Christmas. Netflix figured this out a while ago, giving users different recommendations at night than in the morning,” he said.

So, what about movies like “Die Hard”? Is it a Christmas movie or not?

“I suspect that ‘Die Hard’ remains popular because it’s a good movie that isn’t really a Christmas movie; it just happens to take place around that day, and it features a soundtrack full of Christmas music,” he said. “So you have an excuse to watch it, but you don’t have to beg everyone to watch it who doesn’t like Christmas movies.”

–Phil Roth

Note to journalists: Dr. Kenneth Brewer is available for news media interviews. Contact Phil Roth, 972-883-2193, phil.roth@utdallas.edu.

Battle Burnout by Wrapping Up Well-Being for Yourself

As the holiday season approaches, a brief reprieve from work can be an opportunity to assess your mental well-being and set goals for the new year, suggests a University of Texas at Dallas licensed professional counselor.

Dr. Lynn Winstead, a lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, is teaching a special topic class this semester on Burnout and the American Worker.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been managed successfully. It is characterized by “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”

Winstead said well-being should be treated as a team sport, whether the team is your family, friends or co-workers.

“Well-being must be a business imperative, a team goal and also an individual endeavor,” she said. “A big component to burnout prevention is connection in the workplace. We don’t make connections and build relationships if we cannot be our true selves at work.”

In our 24/7 connected society, it can be difficult to step away, take care of yourself and feel like you had a break, Winstead said.

Although self-care alone does not solve burnout, Winstead has some tips for promoting personal well-being this holiday season:

• Don’t pile holiday expectations on yourself all at once. Determine what you want or need to focus on at various points over the holidays.
• Connect with people to the best of your ability. Connection increases energy and fulfillment at this time of year.
• Practicing gratitude can sustain you at this time of year, in particular, but it can also carry over into the new year. Ask yourself: What am I thankful for? What and who do I appreciate? Send a note (card, text or email) to those people.
• Make a list of things that make you feel better. This list is different for everyone. Keep it where you can see it or access it easily. Include small items, such as “breathe calmly and focus on my breath for 60 seconds” or “take a walk outside,” and bigger ones, like “plan a vacation” or “begin a new hobby.”
• Not everyone loves the holidays, and stress can be part of the experience. Of those people you care about, who might struggle this time of year? Reach out to them with a gesture of kindness.
• Make a plan to carry your new well-being practices into the new year.

–Brittany Magelssen

Note to journalists: Dr. Lynn Winstead is available for news media interviews. Contact Brittany Magelssen, 972-883-4357, brittany.hoover@utdallas.edu.

Reaching Deeper Can Help Nonprofits Weather the Inflation Storm

December brings lots of mail – holiday cards and glossy catalogs and lots of end-of-year giving pleas from nonprofit organizations that rely on pledges and one-time gifts for their projected annual budgets.

This year, though, with inflation at its highest in 40 years, should you increase your annual or pledged donation to your favorite charities? Dr. Elizabeth Searing, assistant professor of public and nonprofit management in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas, suggests that you do.

“Many nonprofits see their biggest revenue boost at the end of the year, but their input costs have been rising just the same as everyone else’s,” said Searing, whose primary research focus is the financial management of nonprofit and social enterprise organizations. “Not only is it important to give, but also to try to find that extra bit so that the nonprofit isn’t losing out.”

Searing offers some reasons to dig deeper:

• The costs of nonprofit inputs – or resources for a program, including staffing and facilities – have increased.
• If you believed in a mission enough to donate originally, then it makes sense you’ll be confident that a 10% increase to cover costs is just as worthwhile.
• Most nonprofit pledges for 2022 were made at the end of 2021, when inflation was lower.
• When you make a pledge for 2023, increase your prior amount by at least the amount of inflation this year (about 8.8%), plus what inflation is expected to be next year (about 6%).
• Always give more if you are able. Inflationary increases will only maintain the status quo in the current economy.

–Jessica Good

Note to journalists: Dr. Elizabeth Searing is available for news media interviews. Contact Jessica Good, 972-883-4319, jessica.good@utdallas.edu.