Every year I swear that I am going to have "this Christmas" the least stressful ever and then things just sort of snowball and I end up feeling frantic all December. This year I am happy to say that I actually achieved my goal.
Lets face it, when you have kids Santa Claus is a huge deal (as it should be) and I love buying gifts for people but it does get stressful for a procrastinator. That's why this year I actually completed the majority of my shopping by the end of the first week of December. No sweating out late arriving Amazon packages, no fighting crowds. It has been awesome.
The result is that I've actually felt that peace that I long for each year. I've also had time to do more meaningful things.
I made it a goal this year to go to the temple often and, as usually happens, I just couldn't find the time to go. Then I realized it was December and that I really wanted to go this month. So I discovered the perfect time to go: the early morning session on a day that I was going in to work. It was such a great way to start my day and an even better way to start my month. It really put the season in focus for me.
Another thing that I've always wanted to do each December is a December Daily album. Basically, it's like doing one scrapbook page each day to mark the events of that day. By the end of the month, your entire Christmas is scrapbooked in one small album. However, the beginning of December is usually really hectic and I have just never had the energy to add one more thing to my to-do list. This year, however, I received a Project Life album from Pinners conference. It was red. It came with page protectors. Plus I bought the Christmas themed journal cards. So every night before I've gone to bed I've written a short paragraph about that day's events, Christmas related or not, and slipped the card into its' pocket. If I have any memorabilia that I want to keep, I just punch holes and stick it in the album. Lastly I photo edit my pictures for each day into a 4x6 collage. It has been so much fun to do. It is seriously addicting and it makes me want to really scrapbook again like I used to.
The best part of this season by far has been enjoying it with my children. Bean is well-versed in Christmas tradition by now, but this is really the first year that Boy gets it. They are both so excited each day and their excitement is truly contagious. I have literally felt my heart soften over the course of the last month and I am so grateful for that because it has truly allowed me to enjoy this season more than I have in a really long time.
Wishing you all a peaceful and Merry Christmas!
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