Create the perfect Christmas… for you


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A friend asked me if I had a Christmas planner she could use (I sent her the one I sent to my list last year) and then it occurred to me that I needed to get my head in gear for Christmas.

I find that as the years pass I get more and more low-key ๐Ÿ™‚

You see, I love Christmas when it’s about just these things – Jesus, Christmas music, some pretty things up around the house, delicious food and spending time together with family and friends.

What does Christmas mean to you?

If you’re feeling a bit (or a lot) overwhelmed and just a little bit stressed at everything you have to do, maybe it’s time to stop and give yourself permission to slow down and get back to your basics.

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Let’s get intentional:

  1. What are the top 3 – 5 things that make it “Christmas” for you?
  2. Are those the same things your family would say? Sometimes we’ve been doing things thinking the family enjoys it but they don’t really care ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

Once you decide on your top things, embrace them and let the rest go.

Are you twitching?

It’s hugely freeing when you realise no-one cares about the tubs of biscuits you previously felt compelled to bakeย  and your friends don’t expect a gift at all.

I used to think up all these cute things to do (biscuits/ snacks/ etc.) for friend gifts and I realised that nobody even cares about any of it. Just because I would love something from someone else’s kitchen doesn’t mean that others feel the same.

I still do some baking….. especially for those friends I’m going to see (maybe 3 – 4 people) but it’s now an extension of the baking for my own family and not days and days of Baking for Presents!

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Here’s your Christmas thought plan (not action plan, unless the item is on your Top Five list)

Activities

Decide, together with your family, on any activities you want to do, etc. baking, church, plays, seeing the lights, theatre, ballet, etc.

Christmas cards

Will you be sending any cards this year? Do you send them via the mail/ Facebook/ email? (I’m having a crafternoon with a few friends on Saturday and I’ll be making some Christmas cards, killing three birds with one stone – creating, having quality time with friends and knocking out some of those cards for posting)

Christmas gifts

Will you be giving gifts this year? Are you making gifts or are you buying them all? What is your gift-giving budget? If you have family or friends in another city, use the Aramex courier bags in Pick and Pay stores. I’ve used them a couple of times and they’re the best. Pop the package in the cubby at PnP by 3 pm and they’re at your destination the following day before 12. It’s like magic ๐Ÿ™‚

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Christmas Day

Where will you spend the day? Who will cook which parts of the meal?

My one friend always says that they have the loveliest, no-stress Christmas meals because they keep it easy – two chickens, lots of salads and a few desserts.

Decor

Do you put up a tree? (Two friends don’t even take theirs down ;)) When do you want to put up the tree? Is it a family activity? Do you decorate every room? How much decor feels like enough for you this year?

The shops have the prettiest things every year and I adore it all. But I take a deep breath and remind myself of my (now) three boxes of stuff….. and my one in, one out rule.

Also, this house, while bigger, doesn’t seem to have as much wall space. It’s all the windows looking out on the view!

Still I will take a few photos and walk you through parts of my house next week.

Has this helped you think through Christmas? Tell me what made your top 5 list.

Remember it’s good to let go so you can focus on what’s most important to you!

 

Edited to add this PSย here is a great Christmas post I just read from Memories on Clover Lane

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Comments

  1. Terisha says

    I love love love Christmas and all the festivities leading up to it. Never thought of my 5 top before, but Christmas carols and music are definitely on that list. Need to think about the rest. Each time I go to the shops, I am drooling over the Christmas decorations. So many beautiful things. I like pretty things, so I usually choose my gift wrap based on a colour theme and can happily spend hours wrapping presents while listening to Christmas music. I love that ritual. Oh and it will not be Christmas without mince pies.

  2. Christmas for me equals trifle and good food, with watching of Christmas movies and yummy treats on Christmas eve. So food is a top pic, with the movies a second – although it was tricky getting it right last year ๐Ÿ™ I really, really like finding the right presents for people who I buy for too. The rest of the things you mentioned need a think.

  3. This year, we’re hosting Christmas. I’ve asked everybody in the family to choose their favourite dish and that’s what we’re planning on going with. I may add a few new things just to ensure that it doesn’t just feel like an every day dinner in our house, but I’m hoping that my focus on the dรฉcor this year adds to the Christmas feeling that I’m aiming to achieve ๐Ÿ™‚ I bought Christmas gift throughout the year this year so although I haven’t quite got everything, I have most of my gifts sorted. We’ll be in Durban for a week with the kids from the 10th of December and I’m stressing that the week that we’ve set aside for this trip will not be enough. The kids are bigger now and there’s so much I want to do with them!!! But time doesn’t seem like it’s on our side ๐Ÿ™

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