Christmas Season

A memory ornament on our tree. My husband painted ornaments with me when we were first married.
 

A warm hello to you and Merry Christmas!  

I have been preparing for Christmas for some time now. Actually several weeks. In our country home, I like to prepare for Christmas starting in October. My gift buying is done by the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I am better prepared to enjoy the Christmas season with all the festivities and family get-togethers.

After Thanksgiving, we make hot cocoa or hot tea and we sit down and sign cards to be mailed the following week.

Then I take out our family calendar that hangs on the refrigerator and pick one holiday event to attend during the season, and our family & extended family Christmas get together.  That leaves me with time to see my daughter for her birthday and be at peace when Christmas comes.

Let me explain. When we lived in Okinawa for a few years, I had to have all my gift buying done, wrapped and mailed by the week before Thanksgiving in order for it to make it to the states in time for Christmas.

This set the pace for me. There are some years the gift buying does not get done until early Dec. At that time I am overwhelmed and become more convicted to stick to my routines. They bring me comfort during this season and allow me breathing space...or margins (there is a great book about Margins if you desire to learn about putting them in your day). 

This year I ran a bit past my cut off date, due to making a gift for each of our grandchildren.  This made gift buying rather simple, but took more time. Thankfully, my husband and I decided we were only exchanging stocking gifts.

In our home we follow a little jingle for stockings: Something to eat, Something to read, Something to play with, and Something you need. 

Since the kids are all grown and gone, this is still something we enjoy doing.  Especially finding something to play with for each other. One year I got him a puzzle ball to play with while he is in meetings. Since he works from home he is often in conference calls. Another year we got a card game called Set. It's fun to find something useful. 

As Christmas draws near, as it is now, I am preparing for Church service and our meal here at home. Then I will start immediately looking at the 12 days of Christmas that take us to the Epiphany. 

We have traditionally held an Epiphany party here at our house, but this year many friends have moved. I enjoy planning that and making a gluten-free kings cake, hiding a "baby" or coin in it and exchanging a white elephant gift exchange.

It's also the time I get out the new family calendar (already purchased before Thanksgiving as well) and my planner and start filling in the dates of birthdays and church related feast. I like to use colored pens for each month to mark off weekends. I made a post about it before here. This is my own tradition. 

We leave decorations up until the Epiphany, since that is the end of the 12 days of Christmas. Then I decorate with white snow flakes I make from coffee filters :-) and little silver decorations are used to decorate my table center piece for the remainder of the month of January. 

This little rhythm helps me to stay sane. If I am late with gifts, or the health condition I manage happens to be making things challenging, then I will take things off of my plate. Usually cards, and baking. I may bake one thing close to Christmas, but our meals and baked goods are pared down so I can manage stress. Stress makes my condition worse. 

I hope this gives you some ideas should you be looking to make the Christmas season into a rhythm and less stressful.

Merry Christmas to you and I wish you God's blessings,

Mrs. Peterson