Christmas approached way too quickly. It came and went and then was only just a blur. We had a whirlwind four days with family and a house full of excited children (and a few tired adults).
As usual, Jonah and I complained, “Next year, we start preparing for Christmas in January.”
I want to have a truly relaxing and prepared Christmas season.
Every year we go merrily along until we hit August and then I start thinking about Christmas. When I mention that we should start preparing, everyone looks at me like I am crazy, so I brush off the thought. Then before I know it, BAM! Christmas hits and I am frustrated that I was not prepared.
This year, I have a plan:
- I have my bucket ready to gather gifts throughout the year. Our desire is to have all of our presents ready before December even hits.
- I am gathering ideas for treats to bake (that we ran out of time for this year).
- I am making a list of traditions that my husband and I have decided that we want to implement into our Christmas season.
- I am creating an address book again, so that I can actually send out Christmas cards. I am shocked with myself that I have not kept up with an address book, but I am also not surprised given how easy it is to connect with just about everyone on-line these days.
Don’t get me wrong, we had an awesome Christmas (with the exception of the flu). We just would really like to move into a more simple, calm, focused Christmas and the only way I know to do this is to prepare everything ahead of time and be ready in advance.
I will be ready for Christmas early next year. What about you?
Photo Note – I wanted to share the story behind the photo. My husband was trying to take a picture of the kids in front of the tree on Christmas morning. The kids were excited and it was hard to get them all to focus , so I was saying funny things to them. They were looking at me instead of the camera because I said something funny.