With the hustle and bustle of travelers lining the interstate, here comes the lineup of holiday gatherings with a BANG!
Last Christmas, my crew traveled to EIGHT different family gatherings in two days. Please don’t get me wrong, I realize it is a blessing to have so many loved ones eager to see us and our kiddo. I also understand many people would be thankful for just ONE home-cooked meal with their families. With that being said, the lineup of gatherings one after the other on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can be exhausting for the little one (okay who am I kidding, it’s exhausting for us big ones too)!
It’s hard to maneuver the territory of holiday family time. Feelings can easily become hurt and trying to be fair and diplomatic can be a challenge. Every November my husband and I look like frantic football coordinators, reviewing over play-books, planning out when we are going to move where to get the job done. We swore when the baby got older we wouldn’t put him through the hustle and bustle of car rides from place to place all Christmas long.
So, this year we are trying out our new look. Christmas Day is officially OFF LIMITS. Yup, you read that right!
The official plan, play by play, in no particular order:
-Wake up in our obnoxious matching pajamas and open gifts together.
-Let our child play with his toys while we sip coffee and eat breakfast (I’m thinking cinnamon roll casserole, can you smell it? I can!)
-Start our tradition, like reading the Christmas story together.
-Throw a roast in the crockpot to enjoy later.
-Watch Christmas movies, read Christmas books, take Christmas naps, haha!
At times, with so many gatherings scheduled back to back, some even overlapping, the essence of making memories is lost. Last year, we were so preoccupied with where we needed to get to next, we never slowed down enough to be present in the moment of where we were! Everyone came home exhausted and irritable, ready for the day to be over. It broke my heart.
We do plan to offer an open house in the evening for grandparents to stop by if they like. (Mind you, we live within 10 minutes of all of our immediate family so this is doable for us.) And of course, we remain open to invites the rest of the season. But on Christmas Day, we are focused on spending quality time together, just the three of us.
While I know this style of Christmas may not be for everyone, I do hope you can slow down and enjoy quality time with your families this holiday season, be it Christmas Day, or any other. Hey, you might even enjoy the mad dash from house to house (if so, props to you, you coordinating genius!)
All in all, I hope your Christmas is full of sugar cookies, hot chocolate, and lots of laughs. And of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without a sore foot from the occasional loner LEGO! Merry Christmas everyone!
