This month for my radio interview we talked about what Christmas and New Years looks like at our house. What are our traditions? How do we keep it focused on Jesus? How do we handle differing expectations? If you want to listen and do some voyeurism via radio about what it’s like at our place these days, here’s a link. And beneath it you’ll find my written thoughts because there’s always something I forget in the moment or want to clarify later. And this time I’ve added some useful links! Enjoy:
-Stan said something nice about me. Moms who are faithfully being moms, I’d like you to imagine that was being said to you, too. What you’re doing matters and I don’t think you hear that often enough.
-It’s easy to dread holidays because it feels like there’s so much pressure to make them picture perfect. As Queen Elsa has been begging you to do for the last year, LET IT GO. A stressed mom does not make for happy memories no matter how many Pinterest projects you accomplish.
-Pick some meaningful stuff to do. What do you like doing? A Christmas craft? Memorize a Christmas carol with your kids? Caroling at the Senior Center? Serving together? Making cookies for the neighbors? Use your family’s strengths to embrace the season.
-If you want to emphasize what Christmas is really supposed to be about for Christians, then focus on the birthday party aspect. Make a cake. Talk about gifts as a reflection of The Gift we’ve been given and as a way we imitate the Wise Men who gave gifts to Jesus.
-Before you get a bunch of stuff, give a bunch of stuff. Let your kids have some influence in what to give and encourage a spirit of generosity in your kids. It’s also great to find a way to give to a charity during this season. Maybe through your church, Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child by buying gifts for foster kids through a local agency (we trust Christian Heritage if you’re in Nebraska) or by donating money that becomes a cow or a mosquito net to prevent malaria through an organization like Samaritan’s Purse. Talk about what you’re doing with your kids and let them be part of the process.
-My in-laws love to give gifts to my kids and I love that, too! It’s been a huge blessing to our family that they show that generosity to us. It has been a learning process for them and for us (my kids were the first grandkids) as we’ve navigated different ideas about what holidays should be like. We don’t live near my in-laws so it’s been sweet to me to see how those gifts create a connection that brings Nana and Papa into our home in the kids’ every day lives.
-We don’t include Santa in our Christmas celebrations. But this Veggie Tale is great about explaining St. Nicholas and how he is associated with Santa.
-Christmas can be painful. That’s okay. I think it’s important to find a tangible way to express that grief. Add a Christmas ornament to your tree to honor someone who has passed. Listen to the Christmas songs that make you cry and help you express that grief. Attend a Christmas Eve service at a church you don’t normally attend so you can be anonymous somewhere and let the grief be what it is. Find community in people who understand what you’re going through. Make a donation in honor of someone you love. And as I always recommend when you’re feeling sad— eat something comforting.
-I am anti New Year’s resolution. There. I said it. My plan right now is mostly just to survive and do my mothering well and I’m not heaping any additional guilt on top of that with resolutions I can’t keep. I do attend a sweet New Year’s Day brunch thrown by a friend where we talk about lessons we learned from the old year and a thought for the new one. I have often thought about my goal from a couple years ago that we talked about at that brunch: Contentment with or without change. It continues to be my mantra. Sometimes I struggle with contentment because life feels stagnant. Sometimes I struggle with contentment because life is so much in flux and I’m longing for peace. I want my resolutions to be more about character traits I’m cultivating and not about habits I’ll have difficulty keeping.
-Reading the Bible is important. It is also difficult for me to do in any kind of pattern because my days are so ridiculous. I LOVE this plan from Margie Haack called Bible Reading for Slackers and Shirkers. It is a guilt-free plan which is just what I need in this season of my life. If you’ve never found a Bible reading plan you can stick to, just give this one a try for a couple weeks and see what you think.