I feel like sometimes we drive ourselves crazy trying to plan and execute perfect and extravagant holiday traditions. We think we always need to do more, to be more. This year I wanted to focus on family traditions and remember that sometimes less is more. My children don’t place these demanding and unrealistic expectations on myself, I do. Today for my Simplifying the Season series I have Kailei from Two Best Friends in Love sharing her thoughts on focusing on traditions during the holiday season.

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Baking cookies. Advent calendars. Caroling. Seeing the Christmas lights. Elf on the Shelf. Watching Christmas movies. Decorating the tree. Doing service. Building a snowman. Going sledding. Making gingerbread houses. Visiting Santa. Crafting. Cooking special foods. Writing letters to Santa. Recreating the nativity. Reading Luke 2. Making a popcorn garland. Having a snowball fight. Hosting a party. Taking treats to neighbors. Sending Christmas cards.

These are just a few of the ideas that come up if you Google “Christmas traditions.” Sound overwhelming? What about an article called “80 Christmas traditions.” 80?? I mean, you would have to do three or four things every day to make it through that list between December 1st and December 25th. Now don’t get me wrong, we will be doing many things on that list. I love Christmas and so many things about it. But if you’re anything like me, it can get really out of hand really quickly.

Last year was my baby’s first Christmas. I was determined to make it absolutely magical. And truth be told, it was.

But things got a little crazy. I felt like I had to do all. the. things. and then a little bit more. I totally beat myself up for not doing Elf on the Shelf. I had a list of “must do’s” for the season and I was so sad that we barely put a dent in it. And then everything had to be over the top. I had to document it all. Get the perfect picture. Have the perfect moment. And before I knew it, Christmas had come and gone and I was feeling a lot less full than I thought I would.

So this year, I decided that things would be different. I would focus on the traditions that really and truly matter to me. That actually bring me joy. Because really, why would we subject ourselves to things that don’t bring us any joy just “because it’s Christmas?!”

I think one of the reasons I did so many things last year that didn’t bring me joy is that I felt like I “owed it” to my little one. Other moms were decorating cookies with royal icing. Cooking legitimate ginger bread rather than using graham crackers. Creating such adorable elf on the shelf scenes that their kids were just thrilled over. I thought that if I didn’t do all of the Christmasy things that my baby would somehow be deprived.

But this year I had a realization. My favorite Christmas tradition as a child was perhaps the most simple of them all. And chances are, my baby will feel the same way about the Christmas traditions we carry on from year to year.

So today I want to share with you that one tradition that meant the world to me as a child and that I have carried on with my own little family. Every night in December before bed, my mom would pull out her Christmas binder.

She had compiled many Christmas stories over the years and we would take turns choosing a story for the night. My mom would read it out loud to us as we all cuddled under blankets and Christmas carols played quietly in the background. These stories ranged from tales of Santa Claus to truths about Jesus Christ. Stories of giving to stories of Rudolf. Long stories, short stories, and some in between. I remember curling up beside my angel mother and she read the stories with so much emotion that I felt like I had been thrown into the tale. As a young girl, I felt the magic and wonder of each story. As a teenager I felt the hope and possibility of the season. As a young adult, I saw my potential for giving and making a real difference in the world. I don’t remember when the tradition began, but still at 27 years old it is my very favorite Christmas tradition.

It doesn’t take much planning. It doesn’t cost a dime. But it brings me so much joy that I know it will be something that I continue to do every single year.

If you would like to start this tradition with your family, here are some of my favorites to get you started:

Christmas Day in the Morning

A Brother Like That

Gift of the Magi

 

Something that is helping me a lot this year with simplifying is to plan ahead. That way, I make sure to do the things that I really love and to simplify whenever possible. So here is a little printable “to-do” list that might help you to simplify all of those traditions just a bit!

What traditions bring you joy at this time of year? What will you do to focus on those traditions that make you most happy, bring you closer to your family, and closer to Jesus? 

 

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Don’t forget to join along and let me know how you’re #SimplifyingTheSeason, then link up on December 26. I’ll be picking some of the posts that I think best exemplify the series to send a small gift to!

 

 

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