I know. It’s still November and we just had Thanksgiving. Why are we talking about Christmas already?
For those of you familiar with my FHEasy principles, you know I like to be ahead of my game. And, let’s face it, if we don’t approach the Christmas season knowing what we want to do and experience, the commercialism and chaos will overrun us and we’ll be left feeling, well, run over. We’ll feel frazzled, disappointed, and wrung out. Who wants that?
Tina’s Tips for Creating a Meaningful, Fulfilling Christmas Season
- Decide what you want to experience.
- Plan and prep ahead.
- Guard your time. Be prepared to say no OR be spontaneous.
Decide what you want to experience
What I do is write out all the possibilities – everything. Everything I could do. Things I might feel pressured to do. Traditions I usually do. EVERYTHING. Then, my brain feels clearer and I think about what I want to do and experience.
First of all, I look at cultural traditions. I don’t like to cook, so all the traditional Christmas junk food is pretty much out. I love to sing, but I’m not much of a caroler these days, so that’s pretty much out. I also have never gotten into Christmas cards, though I love to receive them. So … that’s out.
So what do I do? One of the first things I do around this time of year is … I ALWAYS go through the book Remembering Christ at Christmas by Monte F. Shelley. It’s a short book that helps me center my season on Christ and have a Merry, “Mary” Christmas. I highly recommend that you get this book and read it. I watch the First Presidency Christmas devotional. I also attend and usually participate in the community Christmas dinners and programs – we usually have three, which is plenty for me.
Second of all, I look at self-care. The Christmas season can easily push self-care out the window if I’m not careful, but if I don’t take care of myself, I have a lousy Christmas season. So, self-care is a priority. For me, I love to read and exercise – often at the same time – so I plan out my exercise time at home and at the rec center. Who wants to make a “weight loss” resolution if just a little planning would prevent the issue in the first place? I remind myself to make sure to get enough sleep and just have fun with my family.
Third, I love my work, so I plan when I’m going to work on my books, products, and marketing. I just don’t feel happy if I don’t have enough creative work in my life, regardless of the season.
Plan and Prep Ahead
Then, after I’m feeling pretty clear and centered, I plan things out, including my FHE activities. (Lessons are the same as always except for the week of Christmas when we’ll do the actual “Christmas” lesson from the book.)
For our FHE activity on week 1 of December, we’ll decorate, which usually means getting out a couple of boxes from storage and having the kids do some arts and crafts that they come up with, probably paper snow flakes.
Week 2 we’ll talk about Christmas symbols like presents, candy canes, angels, etc. I get the meanings from the book Remembering Christ at Christmas. At this point I’ll make sure everyone has gifts for everyone else and we’ll wrap presents. If we’re missing some things, we’ll plan when we’ll finish up any shopping we want to do … very soon. (I try to wrap gifts as we go and put post its on the gifts so I know what’s what when we put them under the tree.)
Week 3 is all about the Christmas tree. My husband loves having real trees so we usually put one up about a week before Christmas and take it out shortly after Christmas Day because the needles are dropping and the tree is getting more brittle. So, that’s an easy one. We’ll decorate the tree, get the presents under it, and hope my four-year-old is big enough not to rip everything up like she has the past couple of years.
Guard Your Time
Things often pop up throughout the season and you’ll have multiple opportunities to participate in things you didn’t plan on. Stay connected with yourself and your family first. Check in with moods and sleep and make sure people are feeling solid. Ask yourself if participating in a surprise activity will bring more love and happiness into your home or if it will just bring stress. Don’t let things crowd out your priorities, like FHE, self-care, prayer, and creativity time. You’ll probably have to say no to some things, so be prepared for that. At the same time, if something comes up that sounds awesome, go for it and enjoy it! That’s part of the fun of the season! Whatever you do, be fully there and enjoy it!
All through December, I hope you enjoy …
Happy Home Evenings!
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