We are here! I don’t know about you, but for me, Christmas time is exciting, fun, and very, very, very busy. How are you feeling in the midst of the hustle and bustle this Christmas season? Are you feeling joyful and giddy or tired and anxious?
What makes up your season? Do any of these ring a bell?
- Christmas parties
- Gift shopping and wrapping
- Christmas cards
- Kid’s programs
- Post office visits
- Long lines
- Crazy traffic
- Weather uncertainty
- Cleaning, cooking, and decorating…on repeat
Add these on top of the regular day-to-day work schedule and home routines and you have a recipe for a very festive, but very tired, human!
Truth is, we know once the turkey is carved on Thanksgiving that our “normal” routine will no longer be until the New Year arrives. Because many of these fun Christmas activities and traditions aren’t going anywhere, here are 5 ways to add a spark of joy into your day this Christmas season, even if it’s for 5 minutes!
- Read Luke 2: 1-21
- This is my favorite account of Jesus’ birth in the Bible. It can be easy getting so wrapped up in what we have planned on the schedule to forget the real reason for this Christmas season. Keeping Jesus forefront on my mind not only helps me to reorganize my priorities but it reminds me to treat others with love during the busy and stressful moments.
- Find a cozy blanket, a warm drink, and read a Christmas fiction book.
- I’m currently reading “The Mistletoe Inn” by Richard Paul Evans and it’s fun to have a Christmas themed romance to get lost in right now (plus I LOVED the Hallmark movie version of this story…and honestly, I may be a little addicted to Hallmark Christmas movies right now…haha). This may be easier for some than others, but if you have 30 minutes in your day to sit and be still, try your best to take it. You deserve rest too!
- Make plans to see friends after Christmas is over.
- This is something a lot of my friends and I do to give our schedules a break right before Christmas. Something about the holidays makes me want to know what is going on in all of my friend’s lives, but this may make our schedules even more busy! Scheduling our catch-up time in January frees up our mind and schedule reservations and gives us something to look forward to in January when things typically slow down.
- Watch old home movies.
- It can be easy to forget the joy and magic that Christmas holds in a child’s heart and eyes. Seeing my home movies from Christmas time reminds me of my blessings from my childhood and is always good for a lot of laughs! Also, if you have loved ones that have passed, and you are in a good place to revisit them again, these can be portals of sweet memories to warm your ache from missing them at this time of year.
- Give hugs and make eye contact.
- Sounds pretty simple, right? But it can be easy to check off all of the items on our to-do lists and completely forget to enjoy the moments we are in. These are special times we are blessed to have with those we love the most, so try not to let it slip by with formalities and checkmarks.
Hug… Laugh… Smile… Take pictures… Ask… Give… Enjoy!
I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May the joy of our Savior’s birth nestle in your heart and soul over the next few weeks. I pray health, safety, and joy to you and yours!
Merry Christmas!
Mandy