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In our home, Christmas is one of our favorite seasons. Not because of the gifts but because we enjoy the interactions that we have as a family unit during this time. Over the years, my husband and I have tried several things to make it as simple as possible so that not only can we enjoy it but so that we can truly focus on the reason behind the season.
In the beginning, my husband and I tried to make it to every single family function and every single outing that came our way. We thought that the stress that we felt was normal after all everyone else was running around in several different directions shouldn’t we be doing the same? Being to completely introverted people we realized that we were dreading Christmas more than we were looking forward to it. It was after about 4 years of this that we decided enough was enough and as a team we decided that we had to choose our own Christmas traditions that fit our own needs.
Here is how we’ve kept Christmas simple:
- We allow ourselves to go to two family Christmas functions. Now for some two functions seems like a lot until your realize how many times our families will actually meet up. We choose two that are not close together and it is always one gathering for each of our sides.
- Each of our children receives four gifts a piece. We didn’t want our children to think that all Christmas was about was receiving gifts. Therefore, they receive four gifts a piece. This helps with stopping the overwhelming Christmas list, but it also saves our sanity.
- Activities like putting up decorations, wrapping presents and preparing food for gatherings are done as a family. This allows us to spend lots of time together and to connect with each other even more then we do the rest of the year.
- We continue as usual with our weekly family night. Mind you the activities may change from the normal we still feel that it is important that we have these nights. So we will watch a Christmas movie together, go look at Christmas lights or simply sit around singing Christmas carols. The point is we are doing it as a family.
- We make sure to keep Christ at the center of all we do. As a family we do an advent calendar, we gather together on Christmas Eve night to read the whole story together and we even as a family do at least one community activity together. This reminds us of the importance of the season.
These are the ways that we have kept Christmas simple in our home. I would love to know your tips to keeping Christmas simple in your own homes.
Until Next Time Just Keep Soaring 4 Him,
I would like to invite you to my Facebook group Christian Homemakers in Training where we dive into homemaking, motherhood, marriage and group devotions. After all, we all need a safe place to grow together, right?