Like most people who celebrate Christmas, Moms in particular, I try my absolute best to make sure that everything is perfect for the season. Decorations hung, Christmas presents bought and wrapped, class parties taken care of, donations made, Christmas play rehearsals and performances attended, Christmas cards sent, cookies and other Christmas treats baked, stockings stuffed, and… well, you get the idea! Just writing all that makes me stressed and tired! ha! Nearly every year I have to take a step back and remind myself to slow down, enjoy the season, and for goodness sakes, stop worrying about that one little gift I haven’t bought yet!

Life is busy already. Add in all the extra “to dos” and it can become overwhelming. I saw a post on Facebook by Donna Ashworth today that made me stop and think about this very thing, thus the topic of this post.

She said, “There are some things you don’t need this Christmas. You don’t need matching pajamas. You don’t need a perfect winter wonderland house. You don’t need a sofa full of gifts. You don’t need a Michelin star Christmas dinner. You don’t need to be the perfect hostess or party dress ready. You don’t need to go into debt to prove your worth, love, friendship, or parental abilities.”

She goes on to say, “You do need to give yourself a break. You do need to remember it’s a ‘holiday’- for you too. You do need to stop social-media comparing yourself. You do need to realize your time is worth more than a gift bought from a shop. You do need to breathe through the madness and repeat to yourself ‘peace, love, goodwill.’ And lastly, you do need to know that your kids, your family or your friends will not remember the perfection or the money spent. It’s a fact. …they will recall the terrible jokes from the bad crackers, the time the turkey burned and you all ate cheese sandwiches, and the feelings of warmth, happiness, love and togetherness you gave them, with your open heart and your open home. And none of that will come from you rushing around the shops with impossible lists and a very bad headache. So as the month unfurls make this list the one you stick to and let the rest flow. Spend time, be present and open up your heart to the season of goodwill. Just as you are.”

I needed to read that today! To remind myself that it’s okay if I don’t have everything perfect. I would love to make a blog about the wonderful activities we are doing for advent, the crafts I have planned, or the recipes I have picked out to try. However, I haven’t had time to plan anything this year. I am telling myself it’s okay that I don’t have magnificent plans for this years advent and Christmas season. I’m going to allow myself to not be perfect.

What I am going to make an effort to do. is enjoy spending time with my family. Sit down and play board games, bake and decorate together, watch movies, and help the kids build that Lego set or figure out that new toy they got for Christmas. I want to watch and soak in the smiles and the joy on each of their faces. Most of all, I want to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

We all gathered recently to watch my brother in law, Brandon, play the sax at the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting concert! He was part of the bands of a couple of different groups that performed. It’s was pretty awesome for the kids to see uncle B on tv! 🙂 He is an amazing musician, and we are all proud of him. Since Brandon has been out of town, Leah came over to hang out with us this past weekend. She helped the kids with their Christmas tree decorating. The kids each have a little tree of their own in their bedrooms. They decorate their own tree every year. It was really nice having Leah hang out with us and help.

Audrey has now been introduced to the little people nativity set. That set has survived three going on four kids! It has been THE BEST! Samuel and Emma still play with it. I love that it encourages the kids to love baby Jesus.

I just have to mention that this baby girl is eight months old today! She is now pulling up on furniture! I am not ready for her to be able to reach everything on the tables yet! I love her sweet smile and chubby cheeks! She is growing too fast! This will be Audrey’s first Christmas! I hope our tree survives it! Ha! She’s already knocked Samuel’s tree over two or three times. (We haven’t put our big tree up yet, as we usually wait either till Christmas eve or as close to it as possible.) That may turn out to be a good thing, as it means she will have less time to wreak havoc on it. 🙂

I wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Love,

PK