I feel the need to write myself a letter to be read next December.
Dear self,
While decking the halls with handmade crafts will make pretty pictures, it's the time spent with the children that will make the most joyful memories. Although the temptation will arise to craft some pretty new decoration (that takes no less than 50 hours to complete), don't forget that each hour spent perfecting the house won't be spent with your beautiful, joyful children. And don't forget that Christmas turkey and all the fixings you want to slave over to perfection--it will soon be forgotten too.
So please do your best to remember: The memories of the children's shining eyes and the love you share will mean more to you as time passes than any meal or handmade holiday decor ever will.
Most truly and sincerely,
Yourself
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It's the day after Christmas, and maybe you can tell I'm experiencing a little regret.
This year, our third year in Texas, is the first Christmas we've spent here in our home. I really wanted to go all out and make the house feel happy and festive. The thing is, since I've never really done any decorating beyond putting up a Christmas tree, I didn't really have any other holiday decor to put up. Truth be told, it seems that I kind of made decorating the house a major priority after Thanksgiving all the way up to Christmas Eve day. And I didn't want to just go shopping for decorations, I wanted to be frugal, resourceful, and creative. So I spent waaaaaay too much time making crap instead of playing with the kids.
In fairness, the kids were involved in some of the craft making...although their attention spans are much shorter than the time it took to complete the crafting and decorating! I also did pause the decorating for some Christmas stories, a movie or two, and sugar cookie making. But, today I'm still looking back and feeling like I missed out on some time with the kids in the process. Maybe because I spent far too much time on the big Christmas Eve dinner too...I just wanted things to be as wonderful as I remembered from my own childhood.
This Christmas taught me something though: Love is the number one priority of the Christmas season. The love you share and the memories you make are what matters. I can look back fondly on the beautiful memories I have from my childhood and remember them, but I'm not trying to recreate them. It's ok to throw out old traditions and make new ones. This time of year, love, not picture perfect decor and meals should be the focus.
By the way, when you see the photos of my decorated house, you're going to wonder how I blew so much time on such mediocre crafts. I never said I was good at crafting, but I did mention cheap, ahem, frugal :)
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
Dear self,
While decking the halls with handmade crafts will make pretty pictures, it's the time spent with the children that will make the most joyful memories. Although the temptation will arise to craft some pretty new decoration (that takes no less than 50 hours to complete), don't forget that each hour spent perfecting the house won't be spent with your beautiful, joyful children. And don't forget that Christmas turkey and all the fixings you want to slave over to perfection--it will soon be forgotten too.
So please do your best to remember: The memories of the children's shining eyes and the love you share will mean more to you as time passes than any meal or handmade holiday decor ever will.
Most truly and sincerely,
Yourself
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's the day after Christmas, and maybe you can tell I'm experiencing a little regret.
This year, our third year in Texas, is the first Christmas we've spent here in our home. I really wanted to go all out and make the house feel happy and festive. The thing is, since I've never really done any decorating beyond putting up a Christmas tree, I didn't really have any other holiday decor to put up. Truth be told, it seems that I kind of made decorating the house a major priority after Thanksgiving all the way up to Christmas Eve day. And I didn't want to just go shopping for decorations, I wanted to be frugal, resourceful, and creative. So I spent waaaaaay too much time making crap instead of playing with the kids.
In fairness, the kids were involved in some of the craft making...although their attention spans are much shorter than the time it took to complete the crafting and decorating! I also did pause the decorating for some Christmas stories, a movie or two, and sugar cookie making. But, today I'm still looking back and feeling like I missed out on some time with the kids in the process. Maybe because I spent far too much time on the big Christmas Eve dinner too...I just wanted things to be as wonderful as I remembered from my own childhood.
This Christmas taught me something though: Love is the number one priority of the Christmas season. The love you share and the memories you make are what matters. I can look back fondly on the beautiful memories I have from my childhood and remember them, but I'm not trying to recreate them. It's ok to throw out old traditions and make new ones. This time of year, love, not picture perfect decor and meals should be the focus.
By the way, when you see the photos of my decorated house, you're going to wonder how I blew so much time on such mediocre crafts. I never said I was good at crafting, but I did mention cheap, ahem, frugal :)
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
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