our 3/4 Christmas tree
A little something you may want to write on your calendar for next year…
December 19th:
no white/clear light strands can be found anywhere in the US
(in case you’re still trying to decorate your tree with only 5 days til Christmas)
This is my tree.
I needed that info.
Yesterday.
This December has been completely different from any other past Christmas month.
I’ve had to rethink pretty much every tradition we have so that it can work into a Christmas-2-weeks instead of a Christmas-month. I love my Christmas month. It’s fun and oh so full of things to do. This year is different, though.
How things have played out this year:
Christmas cookies.
We haven’t made any. Not one Christmas cookie. And it’s okay. Maybe we’ll make some after Christmas. Maybe not. That goes for Christmas toffee, too. How have we made it this far without toffee?
Our Christmas chain…
has become a countdown until school starts instead of a countdown to Christmas. I kind of like that.
We didn’t have the usual 25 days and so I made a list of the things that we’ve done in the past (get the list here) and had the kids each mark their 10 favorites. I loved getting to see that bringing a family Christmas was a favorite that everyone wanted to make sure made it on to the chain.
Since we’re counting down til school get’s back in session there’s fun times to look forward to after Christmas. We will also have the opportunity to do some kindness in that week between holidays. That makes it feel even more like we can move through the rest of the year looking outside ourselves because we will already be in motion.
Christmas shopping.
We just started that yesterday. Could I wait until the last minute?
Surprisingly, it was less stressful than I anticipated when we left the house. We decided to keep it super simple. Which we try to do every year. One gift by the stocking and one under the tree. (When we get things weeks ahead of time it’s easier to buy ‘one more.’) This close to the big day…that won’t be happening.
Christmas Matchbox Gifts.
And in the midst of it all we have this new, sweet tradition. I love it! I walk into rooms and see notes on pillows and beds made and each person trying to show more kindness. I know there are things happening that I’m not noticing because there are little kindnesses happening, unseen, around the house.
Christmas tree decorating.
Ummm…that seemed like it was going to be a disaster. We usually have plenty of lights but this year at least 1/2 of them had issues. Either only 1/2 the strand worked or it didn’t light up at all (the majority of which were new-straight-from-the-box lights). Typically, I spend an evening putting the lights on the tree after the kids go to bed. The next morning we put all of the ornaments on it all together.
This year, every person worked to get lights on our tree. Those strands that didn’t work had surgery performed on them. Every single light was tested to find the problem. Most of the strands were resuscitated. We thought that our tree would remain looking like it does here but after some intense efforts we now have a tree with lights all the way to the bottom. We filled in the dark sections with light up stars.
It’s all going to work out.
I’ve said to myself this single thing Mike and my friends, Carol and Natali, keep telling me: “It’s okay. It will all work out.”
And it does.
If you’re feeling stress about the holidays. Or wondering how it’s going to all come out in the end…
Know this:
It’s okay. It will all work out.
(I keep saying it…but that’s how often I say it to myself.)
We are doing less. There is less to do. And there’s some added sweetness. I like that.
You may have to take the lights off the front of your house and put them on your tree because there isn’t a single strand of white lights in the country…but it will all work out.
And probably better in a way you didn’t expect…because you trusted that it would be.
What gets you through the holidays?
Happiness,
Davina
Leave a reply