An intentional December
I’m not sure what it was, but the Christmas season a few years ago left me feeling massive amounts of (unwarranted) mom guilt (from things I felt didn’t go well) and (not shockingly) depleted from the sheer volume of Christmas activities that I tried to cram in the last six days before Christmas. In hindsight, I think the cause was a lack of cohesion and communication, and also that our family was still establishing our own traditions. My husband has his childhood traditions, I have mine, and our kids have theirs. The years we spent as “new parents” were full of memories that we hoped would become cherished annual traditions. Some become just that, but we also found ourselves trying something out one year, only to not attempt it the next. It took several years to decipher which our core traditions should be.
I became determined to come up with a better system for tackling December. I say tackling, and that may not be the word everyone would use, but if you are a parent to young children you know that if you don’t “plan” December, the month will get away from you. You find yourself agreeing to everything, and before you know it your month is jam packed, you are stressed out, and there was no “Polar-Express-Movie-Night-with-Fancy-Hot-Chocolate” because between the dance recital, putting up lights, and the Christmas program, you simply ran out of free evenings. For our family, those kinds of demands, coupled with my real desire to preserve ample time for our family traditions, are a delicate balance that I’ve found needs an intentional plan.
The Christmas Activity Box was my solution to slowing December down. The box marked our family traditions more thoughtful and more deliberate. It was a way to ensure we did not over schedule ourselves in December. And above all, it was a way to preserve my sanity while forming lasting memories and traditions that we all cherish.
If you are looking for something to simplify and organize your December, keep reading! Hopefully you will get a few good tips.
Make a List. Check it Twice.
This step isn’t glamorous, but at our house it also involves wine. It’s a meeting between you and your spouse planning what you are going to do in December—and when. Some night between Thanksgiving and December 1st my husband and I sit down and compare our calendars. We put our planned Christmas activities on our shared family calendar (that the kids cannot see). Once they are on our calendar we both know that we cannot plan anything else over them. If our calendar says that we are looking at Christmas Lights on December 8th, then we will not schedule something else that night. If there is something already on our calendar in December, we make sure to schedule the activity as something manageable, like: “Read a Christmas book.” It makes saying yes (or no) extremely easy in the month of December. You can use this planning sheet as you set up your activities this year.
At this meeting, I also make a shopping list. If any of our activities requires purchasing something (like Christmas pajamas, a hot cocoa mug, or a Christmas puzzle) I add it to the list. I also note the date by which we need the supplies so I’m not left scrambling. Here’s a shopping list template you can print off to use as you make your list.
Deck the Halls
Perhaps you already have something at home that would work for this activity–I’ve seen some cute boxes at Target in past years. I got my box off of Amazon. Whatever box you select (there are cute ones at Target, too) just make sure to get a box with enough slots for your activities, then fill it up with your planned activities.
I do this with some Christmas stickers from the Target Dollar Spot, some Kraft paper from around our house (scrapbook paper would be cute, too!) and a Sharpie. I make one slip of paper for each day of December. If there’s room I add a sticker to each slip to make it feel a little more festive. You could certainly print something off or find something on Pinterest. I opt for the super simple and so this step takes me about twenty minutes because I already did the work of planning.
‘Tis the Season
Our box comes out on December 1st. It lives on a little desk at the foot of the stairs. Each morning when kids wake up they open the box for the day. (A sweet side note: by some unspoken rule, all of my kids let each person read the day’s activity for themselves. They never spoil what they have read, but allow all of their siblings to read the activity note for themselves. This wasn’t something I fostered, but could become a “house rule” in your house if you so desired.)
That’s it! It’s actually a pretty simple concept, but over the past few Christmas seasons we’ve found that we all enjoy the simplicity and peace that comes from having a December that is full of fun, without being over-scheduled.
A Holly Jolly Christmas
If you have young children, you are familiar with the public restroom. Be it the grocery store, a restaurant, or Target. You know the location of every restroomin the public places you frequent. You’ve been in them ALL with your child. You also may know that feeling of washing your hands with that pink/blue/green soap… and the strong perfumey smell that lingers as your previously moisturized hands begin to rapidly dry out and you find yourself digging in your purse for your lotion. This? Is the exact opposite of that.
It’s made from plants, smells like Christmas, and will not dry your hands out (Truthfully I hardly ever need to use lotion… except after having had to use that pink/blue/green hand soap!) And now that it’s officially considered “the holidays” every sink in our home is dressed for the occasion.
If you are not yet with Young Living and would like to get started, take a peek at the Home for the Holidays Starter Bundle! You build your own holiday bundle with everything you need (including Christmas Spirit Foaming Hand Soap) to get your home feeling festive for the season.
Additionally, when you become a member by November 30th, you can grab one of these cute labels for free! I’ll also send you a curated selection of diffuser blends based off of the oils you grab in your Holiday Starter Bundle. Here’s an example of what I will send you!
Snippets from our week
This is the Advent book that I’m using this year as my devotional. I grabbed it last season, but didn’t get a chance to use it. Looking forward to starting it this weekend.
Lily has been reading Anne of Green Gables for school. Each night the three of us cuddle up in my bed to watch the 1985 version (that I adored as a child). It’s been so fun to share this treasured favorite with them!
After caving and buying them Santa hats from the dollar section, they insisted on playing “Elf on the Shelf” while running errands last week. I turned around and this was what I saw.
Thanks for reading! Do you have a Christmas tradition we should plan to try this year? I’d love to hear about it! Just hit reply if you’d like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.