Holiday Traditions- Don’t Treat a Gift Like a Burden!

I heard this idea on a podcast, that you shouldn’t treat a gift like a burden.  You can think of this in many ways. A tangible gift that requires you to do something that is “work” or takes a little bit of extra time.  Or a privilege that is a positive thing but requires some scheduling or planning (aka holiday events with kids). I get stressed out when it comes to the latter, especially around the holidays!  I know, so grinchy!

Around this time of year there are so many fun things to do to celebrate the holidays, whether you have kids or don’t.  To that effect there are also a lot of traditions you can follow or make for you and your family that can last for years to come.  I look forward to these things every year, but they also make me crazy!

I feel the need to cruise-direct the holiday season every year to make sure we do all the things.  Make all the treats, see the decorations/lights, sing the songs, visit the friends and family, shop and gift-give, and do as many holiday family events nearby that we can.  Maybe some of you do the same sort of thing. The kids have fun no matter what we do. We could be watching a holiday movie with popcorn at home or going to a community holiday event with crafts and Santa.  I always try to find more and more things every year (somehow more things pop up all the time), and I think it’s getting to be too much!

I get overwhelmed by all the options and everything sounds fun and too good to miss.  But I think I am missing the point! The whole point of this season is to spend time together, quality time just doing simple things.  Doesn’t need to be a lot of things, or far away, expensive, unique, or extravagant. Just things that are special to our family and that makes sense and feels right.  So I have been trying to cut down on packing our schedule with holiday this and that and just seeing how things go and asking each family member what they want to do.

We still have our family traditions (baking, visiting Santa, seeing holiday lights for example) but we don’t have to make a big event/day out of each thing.  This has been working better for us and we are still enjoying ourselves. I feel the pressure sometimes of making things “perfect” or as perfect as I can, but I need to be real, that’s not ever going to happen.  And then I am the one that isn’t having fun.

Time is a priceless gift that I am learning to cherish.