This morning you woke up again in reality. The company is gone. The dishes might be done but the rest of the house looks like more people than normal were taking up space that is not usually occupied. Leftovers fill the fridge as you bask simultaneously in the thought of not cooking this week and having to eat the same thing every day for a week. The big kids are back at school. The little kids are wanting snacks and treats as they’ve grown surpringly used to eating too much in only one weekend. Those who work are off to work.
And the haze sets in. It’s like a holiday hangover. So many things to do to clean up from the last holiday. So many things to do to prepare for the next one. December is always so full of meetings and get-togethers. Some silly people decide it’s a good time to move. You turn another year older and celebrate. You try to pin down in-laws and out-of-town relatives for travel plans. Christmas pageant practices begin. Stores are crowded. Kids get extra junk food. It’s a whirlwhind. And then all of the sudden, it’s over. Another year, another holiday season, gone in an instant.
As wives, each year, we go through an exercise in respect and submission at the holidays. Do you feel it? Do you sense that it’s extra difficult? Extra tense as you juggle everything?
And at the same time, I’d be willing to bet that what you want is a simpler, less stressful holiday, while maintaing tradition and seeing family, but also focusing on the true meaning of the season – that God sent His perfect baby boy to live among us, to love us, and then to be sacrificed for sins He had never committed, then to raise from the dead and welcome us into life with Him in heaven forever.
So today, the dare is simple: Let’s share and encourage each other. What do you do to keep the holidays simple? What do you do to not be stressed? How do you grow traditions in your own family, while respecting the families both you and your husband come from?
To start us off, I’ll throw out a couple of mine.
First there is a post I did about last Christmas and what I learned about trusting my husband when we sort out the holidays and traditions.
Also, we decided the first year we were married to split holidays – one set of parents get Thanksgiving and the other get Christmas day and the next year it flip-flops. We will do our family stuff Christmas Eve. Of course, this plan is also flexible based on work schedules, where we live, where our parents live, and other things, but it’s great to have an idea and a plan in place.
I made my kids an interactive Advent calendar. It’s made from jewelry boxes so the lids come off and I can put stuff inside. Mostly it’s scripture passages to read and then directions to put the nativity up. It’s also fun one-on-one time with parents and winter-y activities.
Finally, I keep my decorations small. We do a tree, stockings, and a nativity. It takes an afternoon to set up and an afternoon to tear down. I can do it alone or we can do it as a family. Everything that is cloth is washable so it’s kid and spill proof.
Ok, start sharing. I DARE YOU!
nenaholt says
A couple of things that have made a very big difference in my stress level during December are wrapping presents as soon as I come home from the store or as quickly as possible after and talking to my husband about his expectations for the holiday. We talk about what we would like to have for the holiday meal, any traditions, decorating, activities we would like to do, etc. That way we both know what is important to the other and we honor those ideas and then we both get what we want and are happy doing it together. When we don’t communicate there are many hurt feelings and a lot more stress. It has been a real positive in our holidays!