This year, I was ahead of the folks at Walmart in the race to Christmas glory. Our outdoor lights have been up since last year!
Another reason for my happiness today is that in a very small and humble way, I've reopened the shop. While taking my work vacation, the idea of reopening kept nagging me. What a relief to just have it over with. It was painless because I've decided to keep things very simple. During this stressful time of year I intend to offer only what I have already made and not accept further custom orders until after the New Year.
Lately I've also been thinking about ways to simplify this Christmas. The thought crossed my mind that I could bake salt dough gingerbread boys for our tree and skip the whole unpacking of boxes in the attic. In case Elliot would miss seeing some of his old favorites, I could send him up with a flashlight and allow him to go on a scavenger hunt. And Diane, if you are reading this I can hear you say EEEK!
Since the Christmas lights are already up, I only have to find an extension cord and plug them in.
I could order a pizza and invite my family to help with all of the Christmas cards.
I could buy our tickets for any upcoming holiday shows now, so that by mid December I'm not disappointed that I missed everything.
In the end, the big season is going to arrive and I'll never be fully ready for it. But then I wonder:
Why are we racing? With whom are we competing?
This week I'd love it if you would share the ways that you will keep things simple this holiday season. I hope to remember this Quaker saying "don't do something, just sit there!"
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ReplyDeleteI love this post!
If you read my yesterday's post you'll understand why.
I'm working on simplifying. I want less work and more joy in this Christmas and I'm trying to figure out how this is done. Great ideas!
"Don't do something, just sit there" I love this!
ReplyDeleteWe always keep the holidays simple... This year I believe the plan is that Dave and I will go camping for Thanksgiving... just the two of us .. out in the woods or at the ocean. Then we will decorate a little bit for Christmas.. mostly because when we emptied our storage unit a couple of months ago the tree and the a couple of things were in there and we never put them in the storage shed with the rest of the stuff... so we will put them up then put them in storage. I have no kids living at home this year.. one college kid who will be here but even then he is off with his friends more.. so for Christmas I think we will do nothing on the day... watch movies and snack... then thinking of having an open house day after that.. invite kids to stop by and visit. That way they do not have the pressure of trying to get all the families in on one day either... we did it last year it was so relaxing....to just sit around and visit with whoever shows up and no present stress... no big meal... no scheduling issues.
On the Walmart thing... you have inspired a blog post ... :)
As much as I try to keep things simple every holiday season they somehow always turn out hectic and gone in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny. Of course I'm reading this!! Hee Hee! Eeek indeed! (It's a lovely word, isn't it?! Well, I'm sure it's not really a word, but I just love saying it!!). I'm loving your way of thinking with this post my friend - keep it simple. Why do we all put so much pressure on ourselves these days. Everything has to be perfect, and I think all we women should unite and say, "enough is enough" !! That was a cunning plan to keep the outdoor lights on all year, so that all you have to do is plug them in. I'm glad you're doing things the right way with the shop this time, and just selling stock that is already to go. Hugs x
ReplyDeleteI am open to all kinds of suggestions for simplifying. One thing we've started doing the past few years is instead of having a sit down Christmas dinner, we have something like paninis, soups, or other finger food that people can fix themselves whenever they're ready for a bite. Since people come and go all day, it sure makes it easier to have an open kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI always think I'm going to do less and then I get caught up in the excitement the little ones have about certain activities. I have learned to keep down the decorations and spend more time making Christmas houses of different varity with the grandkids! We've done gingerbread and rice krispy houses so far. The only thing that matters to them is we have lots of deco candies one for the house three for the child...available! Then we have the kids tree that is all non breakable ornaments and they get to put them wherever they choose and can rearrange them to their hearts content.
ReplyDeleteWe've changed how we do the holidays but we still do a lot.
Hope yours are all you would like them to be...
Hugs~
I'm a little Christmas obsessed. One of the ways I cut back is on shopping. I buy almost everything online (mostly Amazon). It saves me time for other things I like to do more. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that your lights are up through last year--that seems like a good strategy.