A pledge I made some years ago is holding up nicely during this holiday season.

My pledge to the world — and to myself, mostly — was to avoid stressing out during this time of the year. I am happy to report that the holiday season will come and go without adding a single stress wrinkle to my aging puss.

I used to complain about how the intense commercialism of Christmas was the true enemy of the holiday. It wasn’t the so-called “liberal media,” or those who seek to remove the religious symbolism of the holiday.

It’s Madison Avenue and those who seek to make a buck on people’s desire to find the perfect gift for a loved one, or those who have to prepare the perfect holiday meal to consume after tearing up the package containing the perfect gift.

My gift-giving is limited mainly to my granddaughter. She is 11. She has her favorite activities. She tells me what they are. I act accordingly. My adult children have what they need and so I limit gift-giving for them significantly. My house is decorated, although I admit to scaling that back, too, since my bride is no longer here to whirl through the place like the Tasmanian Devil ensuring every decoration is shown properly.

So … my guilt and stress-free Christmas pledge is intact.

Ho, ho, ho ….