"Unhurried & Quiet"....
Monday, November 29, 2010
Hello Friends, How are you all?....I hope everyone had the loveliest of Thanksgivings!....And now before we blinked twice it is "Christmastime". It seems that everyone is putting up trees & decorations, ... shopping & hanging lights, yet it is still November?......The media makes it sound like if you haven't given much thought to the upcoming holidays, that you indeed are already a few steps behind?....What's up with that?
I have to say, that through the years, I have approached preparing for the holidays from many angles.
I have been the "working girl" that was so busy with her job, that I waited to the last minute to get anything much done.
I have had years where I declared proudly that I was making all my gifts,... which also ended with many unfinished projects!...& last minute trips to the mall!
Then of course I felt doing everything super early was the way to go!...but like my husband pointed out,... I started out wonderfully organized, but just kept going!?.....I made presents & even wrapped them, tucking them away in late summer early fall...& went on to forget all about them, only to re-buy more gifts!?
So the other day, while contemplating about how my mother created our childhood Christmases....I began remembering. I remembered that my mother always reminded us that Christmas was a "holiday", not the entire month of December.
December was a month to quietly & calmly prepare for the most special of holidays....not one to spend stressed out & over-burdened. Mid-month we would put up our tree,...might possibly my most favorite holiday activity!.... decorated with ornaments we had for years tucked in a large department store box, each one wrapped in tissue.
Our Christmas decorating was sweet & charming,....nothing too planned or "style-ized" about it. Preparing for Christmas was "tradition", not decorating magazines dictating the newest fade.
What I remember most though, is that getting ready for Christmas was not hurried, it just happened a bit at a time.
The house, the lovely gifts & the cookies all came to be,...unfolding slowly those last couple of weeks before Christmas.
So with these memories in mind, I will be taking one step at a time,.... allowing Christmastime to calmly surround me...unhurried & quiet. I wish you the same.
Heidi
xo
5 comments:
I like your plan...
I have been really sick with a bone infection and not in the holiday mood...which is not me at all.
I think I will just relax and let what gets done get done and not stress about the rest...was just kicking myself today for not having the christmas cards done and the tree up this past weekend...
I was so glad to come across your blog. The Laura Ingalls Wilder quote caught my eye and then I read your thoughts on Christmas. I will be returning often and have included you on my Google reader.
Earlier today I wrote to a young friend on facebook, when she posted an article about someone who was disillusioned about Thanksgiving. I wrote:
When people use religious holidays as excuses for bad behavior (drunkenness, greed, excesses of all kinds, etc.), I don't see that they are very happy. Thanksgiving used to be a day for church services of thanksgiving and a nice family meal... to celebrate. You see what it has become. I choose to celebrate Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in the more traditional ways. This is just the way I prefer to do things. I wouldn't want to take anything away from anyone, but I just know I seem to be happier than a lot of people I see around me at holiday time.
You are so right! I found myself dreading fall because it seems as though one day is Halloween and then there is a long stretch of stress as one holiday after another washes over us until it is time to put the Christmas decorations away. Holidays were so much more about family when I was small. Great reminder!
That is definately a very good approach to your holidays. Around these parts, we do it a bit differently. I have always been obsessed with all things Christmas. For years now, Nov and Dec is 'Christmas' to me. In Nov I decorate and shop. I do this so it isn't a rush of activity in Dec, and I can truely enjoy the season without any stress to get things done. I also find that by starting in Nov, I can leisurely decorate, one step at a time, and really enjoy the process. Dec is all about baking, friends, gatherings and most importantly, family. I think that the bottom line, is no matter what your family's traditions, the important thing is to enjoy the process, create treasured memories for your little ones,and try not to get swept up in the craziness. Embrace yourself in the true meaning (which is different for everyone) of the season.
You're on the same track that I am, a nice stroll to the Holidays!
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