It is a fantabulous day outside, warm with a breeze that is so un-end of October like. It smells like spring. Oh how I wish that were true, but despite this gorgeous day I know full well what is coming. Winter. Snow. Ice. Cold. But something good too, Christmas!
Sometimes I wish Christmas were in February or late January as it would give more time during that cold season to look forward to it instead of having it already done. But this year like all others in my lifetime Christmas will arrive on the 25th day of December. I hope there is snow. I hope the day sparkles like a diamond. I hope my children remember this Christmas as one where Jesus was real to them.
So how do I go about making sure that happens? Snow I have non control over or we would only have it for a 48 hour period Dec 24-25th. But the mood in our home, the focus of our celebration, that I can control, that is up to me largely! I am the MOM, the homemaker, the celebration creator, the gift thinker upper and wrapper, the cookie maker, you get the point. And I have three little Mom's in the making. Daughters of the King ready to learn how to best serve Him.
This is the beginning of my thinking so I don't have a solid plan yet, just an idea, some thoughts rolling around in my head. I want us to do a service project, go to soup kitchen, hand out brown bags with meals in them, do something for people who have less than we do. I want to hostess this year, invite people into our home because relationships are something God is all about. Perhaps we will purposely observe Advent in our home this year. I'll need to do some research on that. The gifts the girls give one another, could they be hand crafted? They are growing so quickly, how can I meaningfully capture their hearts this year and preserve a bit for the future?
Our gift giving will be smaller this year than probably ever before. Even that though is a way we are honoring Christ, Tim and I. How can I give from the heart and feel that it is enough? I plan to bake and make candies and give a platter to a few people on purpose in the hopes that my baking will ease their entertaining duties this year maybe. I love to make homemade caramels, fudge, pretzels coated in caramel and chocolate, chocolate covered peanutbutter crackers, etc. By staying home this year those are all possible.
This year we will have a real Christmas tree and I hope that the adventure of picking one out is something our girls treasure. I have fond memories of walking through snow to pick out the perfect tree, and of my dad cutting it down. Hot apple cider, the smell of pine and the cold all mingle in my mind and make me smile.
What do you do to make Christmas different than other times of the year? How do you keep it Christ centered and how have you noticed it with your children? This is the time of year dedicated to celebrating Christ and yet the holiday (holy day) has been steadily morphing into a secular gifts/family/food/greed (dare I say it?) time of year instead. How to keep the JOY and the fun while celebrating Christ is my question. Share with me?
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