This year I went to a Relief Society Christmas program given by our church. In it they talked about ways we can eliminate stress and busy-ness during the holiday season so we can be less frazzled and more Christ-like or thoughtful towards others during the season. Isn't that what we all would like to do?
I know many of us do presents pretty low key, but this program made me think about the other things I can eliminate or take down a notch as not to distract from the spirit of the season. Consciously thinking about simplifying things and letting other things go has made this Christmas low key and un-stressful.
Last year we bought a Christmas tree at a local tree lot in town. It was snowing, so our tree was wet and we were stressed and ornery after hauling the big thing in our home and making our carpet a mess!
This year we prepped ourselves ahead of time to try and prevent a bad and stressful experience. We decided to cut one down, which can be so stressful, but we went into the day consciously trying to be patient as we and the boys were cold and tired. Being prepared and going while it didn't snow also helped our experience to be a good memory.
Tanner is in the background with our prized tree :) A funny side note: we saw a couple other families trying to find trees that day. One man walked by singing Christmas songs in a beautiful voice as he tugged his tree. I told him that I could sing alto and Tanner tenor. He was all for it! Next year I will bring hot cocoa in the car and a sled to pull the kids on.
The boys were greeted with a couple items from Santa and they were grateful and delighted. I'm so grateful for my boys.
I wasn't able to give my neighbors gifts or give cards, but I realized this year it would have been too busy for me as I put effort on other things. Maybe another year we can, and we might have to eliminate something else to make up for it, but that's ok too.
We appreciate and love all of you who think of us and have sent us beautiful cards and thoughts. Have a wonderful new year!
4 comments:
Sweet Carrie! I love all your creative ideas, and your amazing talent. Thanks for sharing the moment of magic with us Christmas morning.
I love your perspective on this. I feel like if the tradition becomes a stress, cut it out for one year.
I liked your thoughts on this. Love the crafts, too!
Thanks guys!
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