An Organized Christmas

 

I just love decorating for Christmas. After Thanksgiving I pull out our big red boxes bursting with joyful holiday decor of years past. I try to find one thing a year to add to the collection. This year I thrifted a festive set of plates and saucers pictured in this Daily Delights post.   

As much as I enjoy decorating, wrapping presents, getting dressed up and attending holiday events, I also enjoy quiet nights spent in front of the fireplace playing board games and giggling with my daughter and soaking up all the baby snuggles from our son whose first Christmas is this year. 🥰 This time of year brings a multitude of activities and commitments. There are church pageants, school plays, extended family visiting, hosting or attending holiday parties, plus a never ending check list! It seems there is always something tugging on our sleeve and weighing our shoulders down so that we can’t simply “be”. Or, is it just me? 

The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much. -Henry David Thoreau 

 This year I am purposing to spend Christmas relaxing, making memories and really reveling in the gift of Jesus and teaching that to my children. It’s not that those things aren’t important to me each and every year; it’s that this year I’m purposefully changing and planning to make sure it happens. One of the ways I am doing that is by getting organized. 

Join me today as we discuss the perils of busyness this season brings and how we can actively improve the quality of our Christmas and reduce the stress of this season. Because honestly, God never intended for Christmas to be a burden. 

Some things have to go…

I’m allll about pairing it down this Christmas. I’ve seriously entered my snail girl era. If you know me, this is more easily said than done. I’m a do-er. An over achiever, if you will. So it’s a big step for me to stop and just be. 

I decorated the house, the exterior lights are hung and the trees 😬 are up. Does it irk me a little that I’ve left some decor in the boxes simply because it’s too much this year with a new baby? Yes, it does. But not as bad as I thought it would. And I’m already glad I won’t have to pack them away again in a few short weeks. The house is decorated ever-so-lovely, there’s no need to break any backs making it shine to the max.

Call it an aha moment, if you wish but I decided this year that my children and our family need not appear at every event. We don’t need to capture the perfect photo with everyone looking at the camera and smiling. (That just unloads 5lbs of stress right there). Which means I won’t need coordinating family outfits or have to plan a crockpot meal for dinner or spend money on fast food from staying out later. We’ve come to the conclusion that oftentimes we have a better time together in the peace of our own home or doing a smaller activity like going to the park than attending crowded events. It doesn’t take much to impress little ones, so why create unnecessary stress on ourselves?

We’ve decided to narrow our list of functions down by asking one simple question: Will this event bring our family together or pull us apart? If the event will bring us all together in a joyous harmony then we are in and if not, we are out. 

This week we opted not to attend the Christmas parade and city tree lighting and instead selected to spend one hour at our local library. Mrs. Claus read stories, passed out cookies and hot chocolate and my little girl crafted a Christmas card. The entire family had a nice time. I found some DVD’s on sale to purchase and enjoyed chatting with some old friends I ran into. We weren’t stuck in traffic or the cold weather. We enjoyed ourselves without overextending ourselves.  

Mommy Martyr

You’ve cleaned the entire house for the family coming to stay, baked cookies and it’s midnight and you’re still up wrapping presents.. Let’s just take a step back and have a look at the fruits of our labor here, shall we? 

Will the family care about the dust bunnies behind the fridge? Will your husband care if the mashed potatoes are instant versus homemade? Will the children care if the cookies came purchased from the grocery store or were made from scratch? 

Decide ye this day ;) what is important to you and to the ones that you love and either let the others fall to the wayside or figure out a way to simplify. Don’t kill yourself trying to be perfect for things that others don’t deem a priority because eventually it will backfire into you having an emotional meltdown because no one is fawning over your from-scratch pie crust lattice. Not that I speak from experience or anything..  

Rethink Traditions

Traditions are another integral part of Christmas in our home. Some of our traditions include letting the children open a present on Christmas Eve after reading ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas. One evening we all load up in the truck, jam out to Christmas carols and go see Christmas lights together as a family. We always go shopping for our yearly ornament to add to our tree. I also bake homemade gingerbread cookies. This year I asked my daughter what she enjoyed the most about us baking together and she said decorating the cookies. To simplify our evening and my sanity, I won’t be slaving in the kitchen baking our gingerbread men from scratch and instead I’ll spend more time joyously decorating them with her. What other traditions are you carrying on that doesn’t serve you or your family any longer? 

Impressing the wrong people

This year I challenge you to stay off social media. Don’t compare your activities, your gifts, finances, clothes, food or anything else for that matter, to some stranger on social media. Honestly, it’s never going to look the same as Pinterest and Martha Stewart won’t mind. Don’t waste another minute thinking about what someone else thinks of you.. what someone else thinks of you is none of your business. And comparison is the thief of joy. So, deactivate and celebrate what you do have and enjoy the season without worrying about capturing the perfect picture to post. Plus, no one cares to see your barage of Christmas light photos. Dagnabbit, how come they never look anywhere near as good in the photo as in real life! 

Getting your ducks in a row..

Proper planning will reduce headaches and stress. I like to have my gift shopping AND wrapping done as early as possible. Last year I had it all done by the first week of December, and boy was I glad, because I was not only in my third trimester but I caught the flu! Had I not been prepared then I would have been ill AND severely stressed out about not having my ducks in a row. What’s that saying? Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. 

Planning your menu will also help to make the season brighter. Everyone looks forward to the special treats and delicious holiday foods. This year I’m planning to make my sausage breakfast casserole and freeze it. On Christmas Eve I’ll put it in the fridge to thaw and on Christmas ‘morn all I have to do is pop it in the oven. I’m not making my homemade cinnamon rolls this year as it’s too time consuming and I prefer to spend the morning with the children and not cooking. These are simple swaps I am choosing to prioritize what is most important to me and my family this season. What is most important to your family this season and how can you plan and prioritize that?

Gather your supplies! Take inventory of what you already have and what you need. Take care to remember every detail of gift wrapping like name tags and tape. Then centralize a wrapping station. I have a gift wrapping station hanging on the interior of a door. The shelves contain everything I need to wrap a present including paper, boxes, bags, bows, etc. 

As the mother, you are the merrymaker. You set the tone for your home. Don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holiday season pull you away from the joy in your children’s eyes. The magic of Christmas does not come from fancy presents, vacations or six course meals.. it comes from a humble stable full of animals. A baby Jesus lying in a manger surrounded by love, hope and wonder. Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on this scene and purpose for your family to experience all of the love, warmth and wonder of God’s presence this Christmas. 

~Crissy

Enjoy the poem below.

FAMILY TOGETHERNESS

We are constantly making decisions for our families. Here’s a secret. In every decision you make use this question as a deciding a point: 

Will this fragment our family or will it strengthen our family and keep us together? 

If it will fragment the family, forget it. 

If it will strengthen the family, go for it!

Here is a poem to encourage you today:

T Traveling through life is no good on your own,

 To do it with family is the best way known.

O Old and young, the toddlers and teens,

 All add to the mix with their family genes.

G Gathering together as much as we can,

 Putting aside time to be with the clan.

E Enjoying suppers, parties and feasts

 Where we all bring food and special treats.

T Talking and laughing, shouting, debating,

 It’s a great lot of fun, certainly not sedating!

H Helping one another in times of need,

 Going the extra mile to do the deed.

E Embracing the children, the more the merrier,

 Enlarging our homes to all fit in one area.

R Remembering each other, even those far away,

 Cementing the bonds by praying each day.

N Never holding a grudge--for hurt or lies,

 Forgiving freely when offences arise.

E Expect perfection? We all fall on our face,

 We’re sinners redeemed, needing God’s grace.

S Strengthened by unity--we must guard it well,

 And watch “little foxes” don’t come in to dwell.

S Serving each other with a humble mind

 This is the way as a family we’ll bind.

-Excerpt from Above Rubies magazine written by Nancy Campbell