It's almost an obsession, really. When Edmund Gwen says, "Christmas isn't just a day; it's a frame of mind" in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), that is exactly how I feel. A person's attitude toward Christmas is a reflection of who they are as a person: how they live, what they value, what kind of relationships they have.
Perhaps that seems extreme. But I know that, growing up, Christmas was an incredibly special, almost sacred, time in our house and it revolved around die-hard traditions and family time. In my mind, it's absolute perfection: fire in the woodstove; the vintage red Christmas ball from my dad's grandmother hanging from the light in the kitchen (why did my mom hang it there? I don't know; she just always did); Christmas tree lights from the 1950s encircling our Douglas Fir; my family all warm and cozy inside our house, listening to The Carpenters Christmas Portrait while snow falls outside; my sister and my father and I concocting ideas to capture Santa on Christmas Eve, which always failed (my dad usually "fell asleep" and missed Santa's arrival); baking cookies with my mother...so many more. For us, Christmas was a time of year that we held close to ourselves and our family and the holiday season was a painfully long wait every year.
As an adult, there are certain traditions that we have also established in my own home with my own husband and children. On the first Saturday in December, we travel with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law to Salem, NY to see Santa Claus; Allie and I baked sugar cookies together; Shawn and I have an ornament that we put on the tree together and we have done this since our first married Christmas; I read Allie a story every night out of the Advent Storybook and she opens the door on the Advent calendar; Shawn gets out our record player and we play Christmas records throughout the season; we hang our stockings and garlands in the same places.
However, this year, I did something that I have never done before. I left some of our decorations in the box. Just left them there. Some of the things that didn't really fit with what I wanted to do. Or that I liked, but couldn't find a spot for. Or that I didn't like. After I undecorated (is that a word? I'm making it a word) and reorganized, I found out that I had kept back an entire tote's worth of decorations this year. And it was a surprisingly delightful experience.
The house felt more festive, oddly enough, without everything being mish-mashed. The decorations that were up stood out more and stood on their own. I have a few carolers that I am in love with, as well as a couple of cardboard Christmas houses that I am also in love with. By displaying them together in a simple way on top of the piano, they had much more impact than when I used to cram another, random house and another, random church up there with them. We have a few different figurines that have been gifts, and while they are cute and I like them, I didn't have anywhere to put them where they would have been undisturbed by children's fingers. So I didn't display them. And I didn't miss them at all. In fact, before I opened up the totes to undecorate, I could only remember one item that I had left back.
So, how does this all connect back to our Christmas at the "Homestead?" Simplicity. We tried to simplify. We continued the tradition of foregoing gifts with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law and instead we will go on a day trip as a family to make a memory we can always keep instead of a gift we'll soon forget. We stuck with "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" with our children and instead of ending up with a house full of new toys that we don't have room for and that our children cannot possibly play with, they have a few things that get some attention. We made Allie and Mac their big gift: a fold-up tent that they can use in the living room as a fort (find the tutorial we used here). I even made less for Christmas breakfast, opting instead for a few ready-made items, bacon, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit instead of several casseroles. (Honestly, though, I'll probably go back to the casseroles next year, as I missed having all of that hot food.) But, generally, it was a great Christmas. Instead of the season flying by and feeling like it was a whirlwind of shopping, wrapping, prepping, and parties, we enjoyed it and actually felt each day. For our children, we tried to keep the focus off the presents and on the family. It was probably easier now, as they are only 3 1/2 and 18 months, but I am hoping for that continuation even as they age. Overall, it was a beautiful Christmas season, despite not enough snow for my taste.
I am already thinking of the upcoming Christmas season, a mere eleven months away. One thing I have done already is to create a Christmas season "schedule." I use this word cautiously, as nothing is set in stone. It's more of an outline of what I want to do and when I want to do it. I did feel like I missed out on a couple of things with Allie (like making gingerbread men) and I want to make sure that next year, when she is 4 1/2 and starting to make permanent memories, I don't miss anything. Plus, there were times this year when, despite the simplicity, I felt a little rushed or felt like I was forgetting something. So, hopefully, this "schedule" will really create a sense of calm and organization during a time that can often get a bit harried.
Praying that you all had a blessed Christmas season!
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