Holiday Food for Thought
I have been thinking much about Christmas and all the hustle and bustle. Being a mom it seems my job is never done on regular days let alone during the holidays. So I am going to share some wisdom I have gained over the years. The last point is the most important so if you don’t do anything else, read it.
· It is OK to start new traditions and to let old ones that no longer fit go by the wayside.
· You don’t have to attend everything, if it doesn’t make you or your family happy it is ok to decline, your true friends will understand.
· It all doesn’t need to be done by YOU. Trust me your family will be much happier if you are happy and not ready to lose your mind. Or worse, you already have and now you feel bad. Been there done that one time too many.
· Get your family involved!!!! There is no such thing as perfection. Just let them do it. (Once again if you hate doing it, then why are you???? If it is REALLY important to them they will help, and if no one wants to help, maybe it is time for another tradition.)
· I have found menus that do double duty, can be made ahead of time, and God bless my father-in-law, his rule was if the women cook the men clean.
· Speaking of cleaning, you don’t have to have Christmas in a museum. Straighten up, heck store it in the garage for a couple of weeks (not a good idea for bills J), if February rolls around and it is still there, it just may be a sign that you should get rid of it.
· Limit decorations, use twinkle lights, candles or flameless ones if little ones will be around. Candle light can hide a multitude of dust bunnies and you will look stunning, even if you only had five minutes to get ready.
· Take time for yourself.
· If someone asks what you would really like for a gift, for the love of God, just tell them! If they care enough to ask, care enough to honestly answer them. You may just get what you really want for a change.
· And speaking of gifts, make a list for your family…it works so well for the kids, let it work for you too. If you really wanted something and didn’t tell anyone, you are the one to blame for you disappointment. Now I don’t mean you hinted, talked about, thought about, I mean tell them straight out. Especially the men, I found out that the direct approach made me and my hubby happy. He doesn’t have to guess and get things I want. Everybody is happy.
· One Christmas I was having a break down about too much to do, not enough time, no help, and on and on. Alex looked at me and said to me with tears in his eyes “Can we just have one holiday where everyone is happy??? We don’t care about all this stuff, we just want you to be happy.” Well first of all, out of the mouths of babes, second it really took a lot of courage for him to say that to me, and most importantly that was the year my attitude about holidays changed. Now we do what we really want. Sometimes that is Christmas Eve dinner in our pajamas. Free yourself from others expectations. Have a family meeting and let your family tell you what is really important to them, and get rid of the rest!!!! I will guarantee you it will be the best Christmas ever.
God Bless,
Crystal K Withrow
