The Spirit of the Season

There are so many wonderful things to participate in at this time of year, that life can easily begin to feel overwhelming, and the 'to-do' list can simply take over the feeling that one should have during Christmastime.

I vowed not to let that happen this year. We completed most of our Christmas shopping prior to Thanksgiving. We finished up with the little details yesterday, and if all goes well, I won't need to step foot in a store for at least a week, maybe more....and only to buy food! We sent out our Christmas cards early, and instead of making my own, we did a photo card (which was a great and easy idea that I will probably do again). We are opting out of doing neighbor gifts, we have no Christmas parties to attend, we haven't even hung Christmas lights....and we have few other 'obligations' that would make our schedules hectic.

But don't think of us as "Scrooges"....this is what we ARE doing to celebrate the season:

We decorated our house for the holidays, for me, this always helps bring the spirit of the season
as we put up the tree and hang the stocking while listening to Christmas music. I made these stockings last year (we are hanging six because we will have Annie and Danny spend Christmas with us while their parents are away on a mission).

We are spending time with our kids. We are staying home to play in the snow, watch movies and bake. Being in the snow makes it feel more like Christmas, especially now that we are back from Florida, I am appreciating the 'White Christmas.' There is also something very nostalgic about holiday baking. Jackson enjoys helping, and I hope our other kids will look forward to the special treats we only make during the season....

Last night we watched POLAR EXPRESS, which Jackson was enthralled with, He loves trains right now, and we was so excited about the movie. If I could have only captured a picture of his eyes. They were so wide with excitement through the whole movie. Seeing and feeling this excitement from our children is part of what brings the spirit of Christmas to my heart.

This year, we made a book called "The Twelve Nights of Christmas." I am very excited about this, and hope to make it a yearly family tradition. Starting twelve days before Christmas, we will read out of our book each night by the fire. It is coordinated with spiritual stories, carols, and a scripture for each night leading up to Christmas Eve when we will cover the Nativity. But I hope this will be a special way our family can bring the the Spirit of Christ during the Christmas season.

Brian and I also enjoyed sponsoring a family for Sub-for-Santa. We made a date night out of shopping for gifts for this family in need. It feels so good to give gifts to those who would otherwise not have anything to open on Christmas day. It was a fun activity, and another tradition we want to implement each year, especially as our children get older. I want them to think of others, to be able to feel the spirit of service and giving and not always be thinking of what they want for Christmas.

Tonight, we will attend the stake choir production of 'Carols to our King.' We are looking forward to this event, because few things bring in the spirit like listening to or singing Carols about our King. I know it will be worthwhile.

So far, I feel it has been the best season yet, as we try to focus on those things that are most important for our family. For us, it is leaving the "fluff" behind, and trimming away all the excess 'to-do's' that do little more than fill up our calendars and make us too busy to remember the important things. We just have to pick and choose which activities we want to be involved in....and this is what works for us, it feels great to slow down and relish the season.