I love Christmas. I love the sights, the sounds, the flavors, the Christmas vibe. And, I love to do all the things during the extended Christmas season.
- Drive around and look at lights
- Decorate
- Christmas concerts
- Shop
- Listen to Christmas music
- Bake
- Christmas festivals and small town festivities
- Decorate
- Shop
- Bake
In fact, I love to do all the things so much that the Christmas season has officially been extended from Halloween to New Years Day! Don’t worry, we still love Thanksgiving and have given it a few days all to itself right in the middle of the Christmas season!
Thanksgiving gets its own food and table decorations and it gets to bask in the glow of Christmas! For a couple of days, it’s turkey and pie!
It’s funny though, I love this all so much, but somehow I rarely feel at peace when I’m in the throws of it. Shopping is chaotic. Holiday baking and cooking is stressful. Decorating is tense. Even driving around to look at lights is…not as enjoyable as it should be. Traffic, crowded stores, tight budgets, kitchen messes. He’s hungry, she’s tired, everyone has homework.
Where is the peaceful, beautiful Christmas? The one I think about the other ten months of the year.
Maybe…just, maybe…it’s a matter of quality over quantity. If I start with a messy kitchen and know that I only have 90 minutes, baking my favorite cookies is a stressful chore. If I slow down, put on some music or a movie in the background, and clear 3 hours, the 90 minutes it takes to bake the cookies is suddenly enjoyable…not rushed…not stressful…calm and fun. Likewise, if I get up early on Saturday, stop for a cup of coffee, and slowly wander the stores before the crowds get going, I find more meaningful presents and shopping is fun…calm and fun.
The more I slow down, the more I realize that slowed-down-time is more productive, produces better outcomes, and can be enjoyed. It isn’t always easy to do, but the more you slow down, the more you want to slow down, and you will notice the calm through the chaos.
Merry Christmas! Do all the things, intentionally and purposefully and calmly.
