The Christmas season is underway and for many of us, the time from Thanksgiving to New Years can quickly fill up with many activities, traditions, and get-togethers with family and friends. For some, this season is the most anticipated time of year and for others it can be a season that they just want to push through or even skip over all together. Personally, I love the Christmas season-I love celebrating Advent and the birth of Christ, I love introducing these things to my daughter, I love Christmas traditions, and forming new ones as a family, and I always feel full of joy and anticipation. But I also struggle with seasonal depression and I don’t do well with cold weather so there is often a physical and mental battle (maybe even spiritual) that I have to work through and that plays a role in how our December pans out.

The activities and traditions that come with the Christmas tradition are wonderful; but this season can also cause stress and anxiety (for a variety of reasons). If we aren’t careful things such as Christmas shopping, caroling, cookie making, tree decorating, Christmas light viewing, and even church services or Advent devotionals can become another thing to check off, just to get to the next “To-Do” item. This can make it harder to be filled with joy and patience and to be present for our families. It’s wonderful to want to create beautiful memories for our families; but as a Mama I am reminded that my presence (not just physically-but also mentally and emotionally) is what is most important to my family.

If you find yourself or other members of your family seeming on edge, frustrated, anxious, stressed, or simply disengaged…this is your reminder: It is okay to say no to some things this year (or maybe a lot of things). Even with traditions; we can have a tradition and not do it every year. If you need more time at home or a slower season, this is perfectly okay! Ultimately, this season is about Jesus-his birth and his decision to come into the World and rescue us. If we are rushing from one thing to the next, not getting enough sleep, snapping at our families, and not being present when they need us, it will be a lot harder to point them to Christ.

Abiding in Christ and letting him guide us is the best way that we can show our children Jesus in Christmas. This is also a reminder to myself. We have some wonderful things planned for this year; more than last year actually because we felt like we could handle a little more. But there are still things that I have chosen to let go of this year. And if you choose to stay home more this season it doesn’t mean that you can’t still make beautiful memories. Don’t underestimate the power of memories of curling up and reading the Bible and Christmas books, or listening to Christmas music and singing together while playing at home, or cooking and baking special meals together as a family.

In our home we’ve been talking a lot about the meaning of Christmas and celebrating the birth of Christ. My Mother-in-love sent our family beautiful advent cards as an early gift (found here at Not Consumed) and I am absolutely cherishing the time we are spending on them. They aren’t too complicated and don’t take up too much time, but each day we read a scripture and talk about a theme such as everlasting covenant,  mercy, or God providing. It’s a simple tradition that I hope we can continue, and the 5 minutes spent on it each day is a beautiful reminder pointing my family, but also me back to Christ!

If you want to create memories for your family this Christmas, but feel like you need to be home more or are struggling with anxiety or stress here are some simple ideas of ways you can still make your time together meaningful. Choose a few and enjoy your time together!

Simple Christmas Ideas:

-Find a few minutes each day to pray and commit your day to the Lord and ask him to guide you as you teach your children the meaning of Christmas.

-Designate time to stay off social media, or even turn your phone off for a time each day (or a few times a week) to focus completely on your family.

-Choose a time (bedtime, dinner, etc) each day and read a Bible story or 1-5 of scripture that point towards Christ’s Birth.

-Sit together and sing Christmas carols or have a dance party to Christmas music (my daughter’s favorite).

-Curl up on the couch together and read Christmas books (Some of our Favorite Christmas Books).

-If crafts seem like too much this year, print out a few Christmas story coloring sheets.

-Play games or watch a Christmas movie and drink hot chocolate (Check out the BEST hot chocolate recipe).

-Choose one type of cookie or candy to make together and don’t worry about how they look (get pre-made if that will make it less stressful).

-On a mild night, walk (or drive) through your neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights.

Ultimately, remember that God CHOSE YOU to parent your family and He will guide you in what you can handle in this season. So this Christmas don’t compare yourself to others, or their social medias, or Pinterest; but take a deep breath, focus on loving your family, and keep yours eyes on Jesus!

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”