A Simplified Christmas
Christmas season is upon us, friends! And despite it being 2020 and it being a year of insanity, I’m excited for the season - mainly because of the boys. It’s always so fun to see them experience things and see the world through their eyes.
This time of year always forces me to slow down a bit and really focus on family, but I’m digging deeper into that this year. Despite the pandemic, there’s still so much hustle and bustle that I want to calm the crazy I feel externally and internally, and simplify this season.
So here are my plans to make this a simplified Christmas.
Decor
We pulled out our tree the weekend after thanksgiving and let a very excited Eli decorate the tree (basically, if you look at our tree, you’ll see a cluster of silver and gold ornaments in a bunch that go no higher than 3 feet… it’s both adorable and hilarious!). I also pulled out our stockings with our initials on it (I still need to buy one for Ezra), and that’s the extent of our decor this year. I just don’t have it in me to do more than that, and while the Pinterest fanatic in me wants to feel guilty, I’m actually okay with that!
Activities
At the beginning of the season, I had a whole bucket list of things I wanted to do with the family. Instead, I’m going to pare it down to three activities and be intentional about them so that they make for some very sweet memories. The activities are;
Grab hot chocolate with the boys, find a street with houses decked in lights or some type of attraction and tour from the comfort of the car.
Have a Christmas movie afternoon with charcuterie boards, blankets, hot chocolate or cider, and lots of snuggles.
Take our Christmas photos, and this is Ezra’s first Christmas!
Gifts
A couple of years ago, I shared this post on how we celebrate Christmas with the four gift rule, but I’ve decided to switch it up a tad for this year; it is 2020, after all.
Usually we do something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. Since the boys recently got new books and clothes, we are just going to get them four really intentional toys since we just did a purge of their current stash. If you’re on my email list, you’ll get a peek at what is on our wishlist for them (you can sign up to be on my email list below)!
The day of
I am still thinking this out, but I think we will just lounge around in our pajamas all day. I’ll make a few charcuterie boards so we can snack all day, and let the kiddos play while Toby and I snuggle up together and watch them.
Making this a simplified Christmas season gives me such a relief form having to make this the perfect Christmas ever. I have a feeling that because we will be so relaxed, peaceful, and intentional, that this will definitely be a favorite memory of Christmas for years to come.