Oh Friend,
I need to exhale…decompress…slow down. I don’t know what it is about this holiday season, but I have felt out of control. Is it because I am juggling work for the first time in years? Is it because I am not used to the school routine of a kindergartener? Is it because we had a shortened timeframe between Thanksgiving and Christmas which was compounded by the snowstorm? For heaven sake, we have yet to bake and Christmas is days away!!!
I was at Wal-Mart racking my brain for some idea of what to give my co-workers and my son’s preschool teachers for a Christmas gift without breaking the bank when my eyes landed on the Hershey’s Simple Pleasures candy. I immediately thought it is in fact a simple pleasure to work at my son’s school. It has been a blessing for the past three years to be a part of that program both as a parent and now as a teacher.
One of our Christmas traditions is our children receive three gifts from us (because Jesus got three gifts) and one from Santa. Two of the three gifts are usually something practical like something they can wear or something educational. This has been a helpful tradition to hold both the kids and me accountable. Since they know that they only have four gifts coming it cuts down on their expectations and they are more judicious about what they ask for. It also keeps me from breaking our budget!
Well Friend, it is that time of year again. You know… when people stir-up the great debate about whether Santa should be apart of the Christian Christmas tradition. Well as you can imagine, with the past week of being snowed in I have spent a lot of time online, and I have seen quite a few blog posts about various stances on Santa. So it is my turn to interject my opinion.
Last time we had coffee, I told you about what my husband and I are doing for Advent. Some have asked me what we are doing with our kids for Advent. Well, we have fun of course! I mean we are getting ready to celebrate a big birthday, right? It doesn’t have to be all somber and quiet reflection! It’s a party!
This is truly the most wonderful time of the year! I ADORE Christmas. Everything about Christmas! The shopping. The decorating. The baking. The planning.
The anticipation…