December 9, 2014

16 days to Christmas.  Are you all ready?  Are you one of those people who are all ready by Thanksgiving or are you one of those that procrastinate until the last minute?   I have been known to be one of those that procrastinate and save the shopping for Christmas Eve some years, risking the chance that the boys would not get what they asked for.  I would spend hours running from store to store looking for the gifts  and then I would spend all night after the boys went to bed that evening, wrapping gifts.  I would be stressed, grouchy and just wished for the day to come and go. I didn’t get to enjoy the holiday at all.  But it was my own fault.  I decided  a number of years ago that I was really going to work on simplifying Christmas for my family so that we could all enjoy it.  It wasn’t easy to change old habits but I kept working at it and it got easier every year.

 

We really needed  to be ready early this year since our son was expecting a new baby at the beginning of the month and we have a daughter in law graduating from BYU-Idaho on the 19^th and we will be taking an out of town trip just before Christmas so we needed  a game plan…. so I complied my lists and started early this year and guess what?....I am ready for Christmas!  Gifts are bought and wrapped, packages and cards are sent, and I have made one batch of frosted sugar cookies and will probably make one more batch before the big day.  If I am feeling really ambitious I may even try to make the fudge that my mother in law used to make.  Michael loves it but it is real fudge and I have not had much success with it.

 

It feels good to be done and this year there is a different feel in my house. I am not the grouchy, complaining, stressed out person that I usually am. It seems more peaceful and calm.  I have been able to enjoy the decorated tree, watch some of my favorite holiday movies, cuddle with my Hubby and snuggle with my new grandson.  It is nice to know that with 16 days left, even if I don’t get to the fudge, that we are ready for the holiday. For once in a very long time, I am looking forward to Christmas.