Simplifying Christmas

We were engaged last October, so when the holidays came around, we had to decide how we were going to share our time. We ended up spending Thanksgiving with Brian's family in Minnesota, Christmas here with my mom and sister who came in from Michigan, and then Christmas with Brian's family as we visited his grandma in Missouri. And with each Christmas event came the need to buy gifts.

When it was all said and done, we really wondered if the hustle, bustle and gifts were even worth it. Don't get me wrong, I love to give and receive gifts and I enjoy spending time with family. But when it's all forced into a few short weeks, and gift giving becomes a stressful obligation versus the joy of giving, it makes you stop and think.

So we approached our families mid way through the year and proposed that we stop giving gifts amongst the adults, and just give gifts to the kids. Everyone seemed to embrace the idea and the stress of Christmas gift giving melted away.

Buying gifts for two nieces and a nephew is fun! You get to be a kid again as you scour the toy aisles for just the right gift, and when the presents are opened, you get to enjoy playing with the toys. Brian absolutely loved playing Transformers with our nephew Wesley when we were in Kansas for Thanksgiving. And Wesley enjoyed getting his Christmas present early and having an uncle to play with. We're looking forward to being with Anna and Alyssa on Christmas morning and watching them open and enjoy their gifts!

But the simplifying of Christmas didn't stop with the gifts this year. In the past I've hauled boxes upon boxes of Christmas decorations up from the basement and then spent hours decorating my place. This year, I felt the need to minimize and purge. So Brian and I hauled the boxes up from the basement, and as we pulled out each decoration, we made a joint decision on what to keep and what to toss. In the end, we had a lot of stuff for Goodwill, and a simply decorated but enjoyable home - the tree, the stockings, the nativity scene, and some beautiful candle arrangements.

For those that have seen my tree in the past, I finally gave in to having just one tree and putting all of the ornaments on it, not just the snowflake ones.

This is what you do when you don't have a fireplace. By the way, Brian's stocking is the big one. :)

Last night we decided to turn off the lights, light all the candles and enjoy snuggling on the couch to watch a movie. It was really beautiful to see everything glowing.

We're looking forward to spending Christmas Eve together - just us. Yes, we'll be in a car driving through the night to get to Minnesota, but we enjoy our time in the car talking and sharing our hearts with each other. And we're looking forward to being woken up on Christmas morning by two nieces bounding onto the bed and smothering us. And we'll enjoy going to a play with Brian's mom, sister and brother-in-law. Simple pleasures, low stress.

I'm really enjoying the simplicity thus far, it's a good change and one that we're embracing whole heartedly. And I think God is pleased as well. The lack of stress is helping us to relax, take time to enjoy God, enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth, and enjoy each other and our families.