Simple Holidays

Whew! I was burning the candle at both ends last week. I over-committed, over-planned, and about ran myself (and my family) into the ground with busyness. Anyone else? This time of year should be fun, not stressful. Keeping it simple is truly what my heart desires so that is why I am choosing to be intentional in slowing things down this holiday season. I am writing down some of the ways I am going to do this to keep myself accountable (feel free to steal any or all of these ideas for yourself!). 

1. Just Say No

Like many other things in life, we have a choice over our schedules. Some families love to go, go, go. If this is you, by all means...GO! Some families need more downtime (like mine). So if you are finding that you are feeling stressed this holiday season, just stop. Say no. It's ok. Please know that I say this to you in love, not judgement.  

 

Now, don't get me wrong. We love to participate in fun holiday activities like everyone else. We just do it in moderation. We usually pick 1 or 2 fun holiday-ish things and say "no thank you" to the rest. In the past, we've done breakfast with Santa, the Polar Express experience, ice skated around the big tree at the Galleria, gone to tree lighting ceremonies, visited live nativities, and a handful of other things. These were all super fun, but we don't feel the need to do them every year. We just don't. This year we went to the Gaylord ICE Exhibit for the first time (it was amazing!). We also went to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens when we visited my family for Thanksgiving (also super amazing!). So remember, just say no. Your family will thank you...and so will your checkbook. 

2. Advent Devotions

A few years ago I was invited to participate in a Jesse Tree Advent party. There is a devotional book called The Advent Jesse Tree ("A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1). Basically, you read a devotion and place an ornament on a tree each day until Christmas. We exchanged ornaments at the party so we would each have all 25 ornaments for the daily devotions. I have been doing this advent devotion with my children each year since that party. I'll admit, I do modify it some to make it more child-friendly, but my children really love it. We call it our Jesus Tree because each of the devotions points to Jesus. I am so glad I stuck with this advent activity because this year, my children (especially Channing) remember the ornaments and the Bible stories that go with each one. Many times they tell me the story themselves! That fills my heart with such joy that I can't even describe it! I love it that they are hiding God's words in their hearts (Psalm 119:11)! It's not too late to start an advent devotion with your family. In fact, I was late starting ours this year. So we just did several days at once. :)

3. Keep Traditions Simple

I think traditions are so fun at this time of year. I also think we can get carried away with traditions. I don't want to have a million different traditions that I have to make a to-do list just to keep up with them! We only have a couple of things we do each year consistently. And they are pretty easy...

 

First, we have pictures made with Santa. We love that the children have pictures with the same Big Guy each year and this particular Santa is super sweet with the children. But even though this is a yearly tradition for us, we put minimal focus on it. 

Second, we do all our cooking during the day on Christmas Eve that way we can relax and enjoy Christmas Day (and I don't have to be in the kitchen and miss out on all the fun!). We also always go to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at our church where we sit in the back with all the other parents who are trying to keep their little ones quiet and entertained. I love our little country church and all the people in it!!

 

And lastly, we spend Christmas Day at home in our jammies. Just the four of us. We take our time opening gifts and eating all day on the food we cooked the day before (hooray!). We relax and enjoy our blessings. Now I know, this may not be possible for many of you who have both sides of the family right down the road or across town. But for us, we don't have any family local. We set up this tradition when we first had children and it just kind of stuck. We like to wake up at our house on Christmas morning with our Littles and enjoy that time together for as long as we can without worrying about rushing from one house to the next. Will we spend every Christmas like this from here on out? Probably not. But right now, we like the peacefulness of not traveling or having visitors on Christmas Day. This is our favorite tradition and we look forward to it every year. 

4. Remember the Reason for the Season

Yes, I know. Everyone says this. But do we really do it? Honestly, sometimes not. In the hustle and bustle of Christmas parties and activities, I can forget that none of that really matters without the birth of my Savior. And guess what? He is your Savior too. God sent his Son to the Earth to be born (and eventually die and be resurrected) to save the world. This is the greatest gift we could ever get. We don't have to do anything to receive this gift except believe and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. (Romans 10:9-10)

More than anything, I want to keep our holidays simple. I want my children to think of Christ's birth before they think of Santa. I want them to believe in the miracle of His birth more than the mystery of Santa's reindeer. I want them to have the opportunity to slow down so they don't miss it. I don't want to miss it either.