Thoughts About Christmas…and Life

Where do you spend Christmas? Do you travel back to where it all began in your home town or does everyone come to you? Almost eight years ago, we moved to our current home which is over a 3 hour drive to either of our parents or siblings. Since that day we have always spent Christmas back home, and I have to admit I became a little less motivated to decorate our home for the holidays because of it.

Of course, we’ve always put up a tree and a few other decorations, but it has been pretty minimal. I love to decorate and I always thought someday when we were hosting Christmas again, I’d go all out.

This year, I became inspired to do more after realizing that Christmas isn’t a day that comes and goes, rather a season. When I truly grasped that it isn’t about putting all my chips on that one day and getting caught up in the hustle and bustle preparing for it, I actually found that I wanted to do more leading up to Christmas than less. One would think doing more would equal additional stress, but the strange thing is that I’ve found more joy because of it. It simply took a change in mindset. No more living for what’s to come. It’s about enjoying each and every day.

I’m going to be honest and say that there are a few things we decreased this year. We downsized our gift buying and attended less parties. We’ll also be sleeping over at less places. Sometimes you have to take a step back and re-evaluate what works best for you and your family. Families grow and change. I believe in traditions, but if you’re doing things purely for tradition sake then you’re missing the point. Change is good and it’s necessary.

I challenge you to look at what you’ve been doing year after year that maybe isn’t working for you any longer and make some changes. Don’t tell yourself that Christmas is stressful and that’s just the way it will always be. You deserve better than that! Listen to your own thoughts about Christmas.

Have you made any changes to your regular Christmas routine? What do you find stressful every year that you’d like to change?

xo,