Here I am, finally sitting, slowly releasing a breath that I swear I’ve been holding in since November 27th. Another Christmas has come and gone. Another set of experiences, expectations, and a list of “this year I swear I won’t”s hurled into the trash like the all too quickly removed wrapping from the various gifts sprawled across the floor.
As I sit back, surveying the toys that are no doubt soon to take residence in a box or a corner, forgotten and moved on from, I feel an overwhelming rush of regret for yet another year of broken promises. I can almost physically feel the lost commitments I made to myself staring at me from across the room, slumped over with disappointment as they begin to fade out of site. This year was going to be different, focused, full of experience, memories, and wonder. This year we would let go of the unnecessary, and spend the holiday focused on the things that mattered, things like kindness and giving, family, and most importantly the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, this year, none of those things happened.
I know, what an inspiring blog post, right? (keep reading, it does get better) But seriously, I can’t be the only person (especially mother) out there who feels this way, right?? I can’t be alone in this spiral of yuletide depression, wondering where the magic has gone and how we ended up so far off, yet again. How so many visions of Christmas “dancing in my head” ended up only being just that, a good dream. The reality of the season being that we ended up in that same place we do every year- too much stress and too much money spent on meaningless gifts paired with too little quality time and focus on the true reason for the season. It’s gone again, and I broke another year of promises to myself.
After feeling the emptiness and melancholy of another year gone and the realization that it will be an entire year before I get to try again, my thoughts begin to trail to the future. Is this just the reality of what Christmas will be like now? A cycle of hopes for something different, only to reunite with this same spot and same emptiness?
I don’t want that.
I don’t think any of us do.
I think life is busy. I believe our expectations and our realistic allotted time tables don’t always align. We get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, tossed around in the false cries of “responsibility” pulling at us from every direction, accompanied by the stress that often results in high tension and short patience. We just get tired. The energy to execute something more meaningful is lost to a world full of distractions and convenience that comes with a high cost both temporal and to our inner peace. This trade leaves us sitting in the position I’m in now, experiencing and emptiness that leaves my heart in need for something deeper, and my spirit desperate for something more.
So how then do I break the cycle? How do I avoid the rumble and tumble of the holidays and turn it into the things that storybooks and Christmas movies are made of?
The epiphany hits…. I’m going to begin preparing for next Christmas… right now.
That’s right. You read correctly. I’m going to begin preparing for next Christmas today. I’m going to have things so well prepped that when Thanksgiving Day, 2026 hits, I can go to bed that night knowing that tomorrow I’m going to wake up, retrieve my Christmas decor, crank up the Manheim Steamroller (it’s the way my mom brings in the magical Christmas season every year, and we won’t accept anything different), heat up the hot cocoa, …….and smile. Smile because I’m ready. Smile because this year will finally be the year that the dreams and visions become reality. I’ve spread the time, I’ve thought it all out, and I’ve planned. This is the year I bring Christmas magic back! Not just for the kiddos, but for myself.
Over the next year, I’ll be holding myself accountable by posting the first week of every month about what I’m doing to get ready for Christmas 2026. Whether you have felt the way I am or not, I’m happy to share my ideas with you on how I’m planning to make Christmas this next year, more meaningful, more quality, and more focused. Making goals involving less things and more time, less stress and more boundaries, less world and more Christ. So here we go…
January’s Christmas Prep
For January I’m focusing on the subject that causes most of the racing, rushing, and regret of the holiday season… the gifts. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy seeing the faces of my children light up when they open the perfect toy, the one they have been dreaming of since the amazon and target catalogs showed up in our mailbox. I’m just saying I want to provide them with something more as well. When the newness and novelty of the materialistic wears off, I want to have given them something that they’ll treasure. A gift that won’t end up in the donation box, and instead will gain value with time.
My goal this month is to ponder and plan. To make a goal and timeline for the gifts that can’t be pulled off last minute. For Example, putting together the baby books that I’ve been wanting to make for my children for years now. Or making it possible for each of them to have a personalized and imperfect quilt made by their mother who is determined to learn how to sew. I’m going to research possible experiences. If I’m being honest, Disney isn’t in the cards for us this year, but there are so many ways to spend quality time and create moments for whatever your budget is. That may entail a week stay in Hawaii, or maybe its a staycation filled with planned activities, where everyone promises to turn off phones and really be together. I’m going to explore, plan, and save so instead of more materialism, we make memories. I want to have moments that will form bonds, and create conversations Christmas’s down the road. Years from now, I want to sit around the dinner table Christmas Eve, laughing as we play out the “old times” for the next generation. In turn, gifting ourselves the reminder that despite how busy life, and jobs, and responsibilities get, at the end of the day, the most important thing is in that very room at that very moment.
With my January goal being recorded, I’m looking forward to sharing my progress with you the first week of February when i jump on to share my next goal. I’ll be sharing ideas on neighbor gifts, letting go and de-stressing as a mother (prepare for a lengthy informative writing on an absolute saint of a woman-my mother), learning where to say no and yes to Holiday invites and offers, and ideas to make Christ the center of your season, while still enjoying all the traditions. In the meantime, as I’m finishing this post, I have to admit, this has added a little more light and warmth in my heart and excitement to try this thing again, even if that means starting a year in advance. Until the next idea..
Happy January, Ya’ll!
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