Are you looking for ways to simplify Christmas?
My family has a pretty good routine going for our Advent/Christmas/Winter celebrations, so I thought I’d share. I love seeing how other families live a simple life, so maybe you will, too!
Extended Family Christmas
In my family, Christmas is our busy season, so we celebrate with our extended families at another time of the year. Just keep in mind that you don’t have to adhere to a specific day if it isn’t working for you. Talk to your family about having Christmas at New Years, or Thanksgiving Break, or whenever works for you. It makes actual Christmas so much less stressful, and gives us more time with our family rather than rushing around trying to get everything done.
Advent
We do not begin celebrating anything about Christmas until Advent. No decorations, no holiday music, etc.
We mark the beginning of Advent by making an Advent Spiral. Then each night we light a candle, and typically we read a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible (affiliate link). As the kids get older, that might change, but it’s still a family favorite. My husband and I each also typically have an advent devotional of our own that we read during Advent. To me, Advent is the most holy season, pregnant with longing, so I try to really live into that. One year, I didn’t take Communion for all of Advent, just to feel the longing and anticipation of Jesus’s coming. It was a beautiful experience, and the sacrament meant that much more to me after a period of waiting.
Saint Nicholas
We celebrate Saint Nicholas on Saint Nicholas Day (or somewhere around that time, we’re not bound to a specific day because of school). The night before, we watch VeggieTales Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving as a family. If you ever catch me NOT crying during the song, “I can love because God loves me,” something is wrong.
The next morning, Santa has come! Saint Nick leaves ONE fun gift for each child. This is a toy, video game, etc. Something that has no real practical value besides making the kid happy. They also get a stocking stuffed with food with no nutritional value. Candy, soda, chips… things that they don’t normally get to have at our house. That’s all. Santa has been celebrated simply, and we get to get on with Advent focusing on Jesus.
Christmas
We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve or Day, depending on the kids’ situations (blended family here, y’all). The parents exchange gifts (within a budget) and the kids get two gifts. One is always a book or set of books (depending on price) for each child. Then they get a new board game to share as a family (our 2020 board game was Pandemic 😄). We also attend a Christmas service at church (the timing for this varies each year, but we always make it to one). We continue to celebrate Christmas until Epiphany, so the decorations stay up and we continue with the Christmas music until January 6th. Sometimes the tree accidentally stays up longer, because we have more important things to take care of. 😊
Other gift-y stuff
We don’t exchange gifts with anyone outside our own immediate families. Each spouse takes care of gifts for their own family, and we handle the kid stuff together.
We always do a deep clean of the kids’ rooms before Christmas to be prepared for a possible influx.
We keep a running gift list all year for everyone in the family, so we can know what each person wants and not double buy. We use Giftster for this, but there are a lot of options available.
We don’t do work presents. I make a point to talk with the people on my team right before Thanksgiving break about not exchanging gifts. Some people agree, some don’t, but I don’t allow myself to get guilted into gifts. If someone wants to give me something, I’ll thank them, but I try not to feel guilty about not reciprocating. I’ve already laid out my boundaries ahead of time.
We don’t do cards, cookies, parties, etc. Anything that feels like a social obligation, it doesn’t happen. If we make cookies as a family activity, we may share them. The kids may do something for their friends. But if it feels like it’s “expected” of me, I’m not going to do it.
The Unexpected
That’s the point here. Just because something is expected doesn’t mean you have to do it. You can do the unexpected and TRULY celebrate Jesus the way you want. Don’t let a commercialized society tell you how to celebrate this most sacred of holidays. Listen to your heart, follow the Spirit, and have a very merry Christmas.
