Five Simple Ways to Enjoy Your Holidays

I don’t know about you, but this year more than any other, I’m determined to keep the holidays simple. Yes, part of the reason is finances, but it’s also a matter of perspective. The older I get, the more I appreciate simplicity, and that's especially true during the Christmas holidays.

After all, the reason for the season is not about spending a small fortune and running ourselves ragged. Actually, the opposite is true. The reason for the season is simply to celebrate love—the birth and love of Jesus Christ and our love for Him and each other in return.

With that in mind, here are some ways in which I’m keeping my holidays simple this year. Maybe some of them will also work for you.

Photo Credit: PetitPlat - Stephanie Kilgast via photopin cc

1. If you usually buy gifts for each person in your immediate family, suggest that you pull names this year. A word of caution on this idea: Be prepared to meet some resistance when you initially bring it up. Old habits die hard, especially where family traditions are concerned, but it’s still worth a try. Chances are others in your family feel the same way. My family, for example, discussed this idea during Thanksgiving this year. While some felt the same way, not everyone agreed, so we’ll still be buying individual gifts. However, just having the discussion about pulling names gave me an opportunity give my family a heads-up that I will be spending less on gifts this year. It also gave others the freedom to admit the same is true for them.

2. Resist the urge to replace your old Christmas decorations with new ones this year. Maybe you’ve been using the same Christmas decorations for more than 10 years (like me) and are thinking it’s time you do something different because you figure everyone is tired of seeing them. This thought also crossed my mind, but when I got all our old decorations out and up, I realized how much I still like them. Plus, I remembered that most people never see them, especially not our indoor decorations, and the few who do only see them once a year. That’s definitely not enough to warrant making a change—at least not yet.

3. Make a schedule of the Christmas events and activities you most want to participate in this year, and stick to it as much as possible. When you think about it, the Christmas season only lasts about six weeks, but it’s often tempting to try to squeeze six months worth of activities into it. To avoid this temptation, decide upfront which Christmas events and activities you most want to participate in, and write them down. (A good resource for upcoming events is online calendars.)  I suggest you schedule your events and activities on your overall calendar instead of on a separate “holiday” calendar. This will help you avoid time conflicts and will give you a more realistic view of your schedule.

4. Put off home improvement projects until after the holidays—unless they are absolutely necessary. There’s something about the holidays that makes us want to spruce up our house with either new home improvement projects or by completing the ones we’ve been putting off all year. Maybe there’s also some anxiety about starting the new year with these old projects still undone which makes us want to rush to finish them for the holidays. Painting our master bedroom is the one that comes to mind for me. But I’ve decided I can live with the old paint a few weeks more, leaving me more time to enjoy the holidays. It’s also kind of exciting to look forward to starting the new year with fresh coat of paint.

5. Stock your freezer with prepared meals. There are a couple of ways in which to approach this idea. If you like to cook but don’t have much time to do it during the holidays, pick a day or two to prepare several items that freeze well that you can simply heat and eat. Several tried and true items are soups, casseroles, sauces, and meat-in-gravy dishes. Another approach is to simply buy some tasty frozen entrees such as pasta meals, pizzas, prepared meats and vegetables, and throw them in the freezer until you need them. My experience has been that a combination of these two ideas works best. While store-bought frozen dinners have improved in taste over the years, I find that after a day or two of eating them, I start craving some real home cooking. By alternating the days when you eat your homemade and store-bought frozen dishes, you’ll find this idea more satisfying both to your time and taste buds. 

Don’t let the list of ideas stop here. What are some ways in which you are making your holidays simpler this year? Go on. Share your thoughts. When you do, it will be like giving a holiday gift to others—and to yourself!

Comments

[Cynthia Legette Davis]

#6. Don't feel down on yourself when you are unable to give to every charity that asks. Give to the one(s) closest to your heart. ~ Submitted by Virginia Chapman