Simplify Your Christmas

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My husband is full of good advice. As I struggled to squeeze every ounce of tradition, baking and family fun out of last year’s Christmas, he sat back and waited for my attention. Then, he simply suggested to me, “Maybe you are trying to do too much.”

When it comes to Christmastime, and really any holiday, I get all giddy and warm and fuzzy when I consider all of the traditions – new and old – that will take place. Each year I strive to do it all – looking at Christmas lights, making treats, decorating cookies, sending loaded Christmas cards, baking homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, finding THEE perfect gift for my hubby…. This year, the girls joined the children’s Christmas choir at church…. I mean, we really pack in the fun during this season! At the end of it all, I slip into a coma until the new year. I am completely wiped out!

This year, I considered my hubby’s words of wisdom. Perhaps I am trying to do too much. While we do have traditions that we still celebrate, we choose an easier way to do them.

Here are a few of our favorite Christmas traditions and how we are simplifying them this year.

Christmas Candy
Christmas Candy

1 – Christmas candy. I am big on carrying this tradition on! My grandma still makes Christmas candy each year. I love thinking about what it must have been like for her having 4 little ones running around the kitchen, sneaking a taste whenever she turned away. So, while I refuse to give this one up entirely, I am okay with the idea of making it gradually throughout December and sticking it in the freezer!

2 – Each family member picks his or her own ornament. This one is so simple. There isn’t much we can do to make it easier. We like going to the Hallmark stores, specifically Sarah’s Hallmark just down the road from our house. We love seeing all of the ornaments and letting the children test out all of the noisy ones in the store. The employees here are incredibly sweet and gracious as we make more noise than any other customers and spend a good 30 minutes looking through their Christmas ornaments.

3 – Cinnamon rolls for breakfast Christmas morning. You may be wondering why that’s so hard. It’s because I am sort of a snob when it comes to baking. I made PW’s Cinnamon Rolls a few years ago and fell in love. So delicious! In my opinion, they don’t taste very good unless they’re fresh, therefore, they need to be made the night before. This can cause some stress as it may have to happen with a house full of guests. This year, my kids might have to settle for some frozen cinnamon rolls, and I may have to utilize my Crock Pot and go with a breakfast casserole such as this one from Iowa Girl Eats! (She has some amazing recipes on her blog! Check her out!)

4 – Loaded Christmas cards – picture, letter and handwritten note in each! This is the final year we will be going ALL out on our Christmas cards. I love doing it each year, but we are just NOT in the season of life for something so time consuming! Perhaps we can go digital next year and email our Christmas letter (except for my grandma – we will mail her one). I am loving the look of printing our own picture cards similar to the ones seen here or here. Beautiful, personable, simple.

5 – Decorating the tree. Each year we get the tree set up and ready to decorate. Hubby pulls down all of the ornaments, lights and decorations. We crank up the Christmas music and have fun decorating while we sing and reminisce about each ornament. This used to stress me out a bit. Everyone grabbing at all the ornaments, loud music, running around the tree. But, through the years, I have come to appreciate this beautiful scene. The joy that takes over when I let go is priceless.

Decorating the Christmas tree
Decorating the Christmas tree

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? What are you doing to simplify and enjoy those traditions?

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