How we are Simplifying the Holidays

We have taken several steps to simplify our holidays the last couple of years:

DECORATING: We decorate early in the season for two reasons: We can enjoy the decorations longer & it tends to be warmer out which makes outside decorating much more pleasant. Plus it is a tradition to decorate around our wedding anniversary.

GIFT GIVING: This year I also decided NOT to make homemade gifts for everyone on our list, like last year. My intentions last year were good, but it was time consuming and stressful. This year, I still made a few gifts, but we bought most of them and I tried to buy local when at all possible. We have also given the gift of time/memories with concert tickets and activities to do together, because face it: we all have too much stuff already.

And rather than worry about spending the exact same amount of money on each person, we just buy what they would like. I have spent too much time at stores looking for something that costs $6 or to make it all fair. Then you end up with a impersonal $6 gift that is likely to be returned anyway. And although the time we put into making gifts is priceless, time is worth something too. We put a lot of thought into each gift and that makes up for the slight inequality. And since we have only one child, we can swing it.

BAKING: I don’t enjoy baking all that much, especially alone. And when I have a little helper, the finished product is not always one that is pleasing to the eyeJ Therefore I do not bring plates of treats to my coworkers, friends or neighbors. Last year I hosted a soup luncheon instead and I loved it so much more. It meant I was able to visit with my coworkers, friends and neighbors in my own home over a warm meal instead of trying to track them down to deliver treats that I really didn’t enjoy making to begin with.

TRAVEL: Since our families are so spread out, we used to try to see each of them for all holidays, travelling to two or three places for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We called it the “Tour de Minnesota” and although we tried to make it fun, staying up late and driving only to get up early and do more driving made us tired and crabby. We never felt like we settled in; rather, we were counting down the hours until we had to leave for the next place again. And packing and unpacking the car at each stop was a nightmare- because of the cold weather where and the risk of gifts/toiletries/snacks freezing, we would have to bring in everything at every place we stopped. Factor in poor weather conditions and what should be a fun adventure, is instead stressful, exhausting and miserable. Not exactly putting us in the jolly Christmas spirit. Since both my husband and I have families that we want to spend time with, -we are lucky in that regard! Although I jokingly say it would be easier if one of us had a family we didn’t want to spend time with, I would never wish for that. I doubt we would ever have gotten married if that were the case. We both put high value on family- we decided to alternate the holidays we spend with our families. One year with my family; the next with my husband’s. This is the right decision for us as it save us about 8-10 hours in the car which means more time with our families! It is still hard for me when I am not with the family I grew up celebrating with, creating traditions with, knowing those traditions are still going on without me, no matter how welcoming my husband’s family is. And although more than anything I want my daughter to wake up on Christmas morning in her own home, this works for us.

The small steps we’ve taken have allowed us more time to be at home, reading holiday books and watching holiday movies, playing with the nativity set, ringing bells, and being together. In my mind, that is exactly what the holidays should be about anyway.

~Angela