Wow! I’m in complete denial that Christmas morning is less than 48 hours away. Somebody has work to do…and yet I’m blogging and procrastinating about said work. But I’m a firm believer that before 8am you can do whatever you want to do. So I have an hour and five to get this thing done.
McKenna and I made the cutest little treats for her pre-school class this week! Before you start getting all impressed about my creativity and craftiness, I must tell you that the idea and printable came from Dixie Delights. (She has a sweet blog with lots of great elf-on-the-shelf-ideas and her house is BH&G-photo-shoot-ready. It’s also totally where I got the idea to put red food coloring in the toilet this morning and put the elf on the back like she forgot to flush. McKenna is going to freak! But I digress…)
How stinking cute are those? I couldn’t find the peeps snowmen so I settled for a chocolate covered guy in the package.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how to make Christmas special. It is so easy to focus on accomplishing the task at hand that you miss Christmas all together. There are dishes to be cooked, presents to be wrapped, houses to be cleaned, places to go, presents to put away, pictures to take, videos to make. All of those things have to be done (except the whole cleaning thing maybe). But try to stay present and enjoy the time you have with your family.
So, in honor of that, I’ve made a little list of a few things you can do to make the most of Christmas.
1. Use your good stuff. I’ve had these Christmas mugs for 5 years. I drag them out every year for display and have never used them. Life is short. I know of several people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s who were here last Christmas but will spend Christmas in heaven this year. There is no promise of tomorrow. I’m drinking my instant cappuccino out of them as we speak!
2. Don’t rush away from the table. I know that the sooner you start clearing the table and washing dishes, the sooner it will be done. But don’t be in such a hurry to get to work that you miss the opportunity to talk with your family, laugh and reminisce. I read somewhere (and I have no idea where) that staying longer at the table and putting off the dishes to spend time with the people you are with let’s them know that they are worth it.
3. Turn off your cellphone. Trust me, you can check facebook later.
4. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Really. It will be ok if there are dishes in the sink. A friend of mine once told me that having a dish or two in the sink when people come over makes them feel more at home. I have a 1dirty dish minimum rule in my sink. Ok, probably more like a truth than a rule.
5. Start a new family tradition. It could be something as simple a family photo in front of the tree on Christmas morning or hopping in the car to ride around and look at Christmas lights. When I think about Christmas when I was a child, I remember more about the things we did together than the things I got for Christmas. You could also start a tradition that includes helping others. Take your child shopping for a toy for a child in need and let him or her donate it.
Those are just a few ideas from me to you. It is almost 8am and my time is almost up! I do wish each and every one of you a blessed, happy and memorable Christmas and Happy New Year! And to remember the true reason for the season, you should read Edie’s post about Christmas Theology from 366 days ago. It’s a beautiful post.
Merry Christmas!