The Maple Leaf Festival is now history for Carthage. What does that mean for me? It means the time is going to go faster and faster until New Year's Day! I am all for preparing early for Christmas. BUT what I've found is that if I'm not ready by early December, I spend all of December in a stressed out frenzy. That's not the kind of memory I want my kids to have of me! This year I've started earlier than ever. You've probably noticed that I've had a ticker in my sidebar with the countdown to the Christmas season. Am I jumping the gun? No, I don't think so. I want to be mindful of my time so that I can enjoy December and Advent with my children. I want the focus to be on Jesus, not on the fuss of it all.
How are you doing? Are you thinking through what you want to do yet? Any presents made or bought or planned yet? Think about what you want this season to be like. Think about what meals you'll be preparing, what snacks and baking you'll want to do. Think about the gifts you'll want to prepare. It's not too early to start getting it all down on paper.
No idea where to begin? Begin with prayer! Ask the Lord how you can honor Him with the celebration of His birth. He'll put some ideas in your head. You'll probably find that you can simplify a lot.
Now is the time to talk with family members about scaling back on gift giving this year, before anyone gets caught up in the gimme spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. It can happen to adults, too. We just paint a pretty face over it and call it the spirit of giving.
Well, I suppose I've given you something to think about. For additional help in getting your thoughts on paper, you might look at the holiday control journal on www.FlyLady.net . It's free to download.
May God bless you with peace, hope, and focus this holiday season!
Laura
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I am so with you! I start now baking and freezing my Christmas cookies, and buying gifts. We get our tree the day after Thanksgiving so that by Dec. 1st, it is all done. I want the whole month of December to enjoy the season and what it really represents!
ReplyDeleteOh my Ann Marie!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I answered you or not. Please forgive me. I just found this in my e-mail buried under lots and lots of stuff.
As it turned out this year, I was working in the restaurant and bakery so much, I didn't get any early prep done at home. We didn't have any company, so it still worked out alright. Next year I hope I've got it all together!
May God bless you richly in this new year. I'll be over to your blog for a visit soon. Once again, I beg your pardon.