Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Christmas? Me Stressed? Not yet......

It's Tuesday and it's 2 days until December and it's the beginning of the holiday season....I do not have time to BLOG.......  

Actually, I do - I am making every effort to relax this season and not get caught up in the holiday frenzy, so I am joining up with my girls, Shawn & Impulsive Addict (and yes they are MY girls, that's not just a saying, check out all the fun we had in Austin last May if you want to see why)
Seriously Shawn
Last week in Church, our pastor said something that I took to heart and am going to take to heart this Christmas season.  He was speaking on getting all caught up with the Holiday Craziness (shopping, decorating, baking, parties, etc.) - FYI: I love all this "holiday craziness", but HATE the stress that comes with it. 

He said, "Everyone is running around, obsessed with finding the perfect gift, when GOD has already given us the PERFECT GIFT when he gave us Jesus." His message was to relax and focus on the reason we celebrate and not get so stressed.

I walked out of there feeling so much more at ease with my lack of preparation for Christmas.  Being gone in Nowheres Oklahoma for 4 days didn't help get Christmas up, ya know.

So, that is my goal.  I want to feel relaxed this season.  Hmm, but can I really?

- We took down all the decorations on Sunday afternoon (over 20 boxes worth).  They are sitting in my garage.  It's Tuesday and we have only gotten the outside lights up, all my Department 56 (31 of them) houses put up above the cabinets, and the tree is up (no ornaments yet though).  Oh, and our stockings are hung.  How do I feel about living in Christmas chaos - no biggie.

- We do an advent calendar in which every night has an "event", like watch The Polar Express together, read A Christmas Mouse, go look at lights, etc.  This year, they might get candy in their Advent calendar.  I still have 2 more days to get that organized.

- I always stress out over the Christmas Card.  (don't judge me, you know you do too!!) I had the perfect idea for a family picture which the hubby nixed (truth be told, I felt a little relieved).  We took some great pics of the kids at the ranch and 30 minutes later online, we had a great card ordered.  yay.

- Our Elf, George, should be arriving for his visit on Thursday, December 1 - I have a feeling he is going to get into a ton of mischief thanks to my good friend Pinterest......

-And speaking of Pinterest, there are some amazing things that I really want to do, but again, it adds to the stress for me....

 thanks to ucreatewithkids.com 
 thanks to squidoo.com


And this is just 3 pictures of the tons of stuff I have pinned on my Christmas board....just the thought of "making" these crafts breaks me out into hives...... hmmmm.....rethinking the crafts....

-There are so many fun events happening here in Austin that I would love to do with the family.... Lighting of the Christmas Tree, ice skating on the roof of Whole Foods,  An Elf quote-along, Christmas shopping in Fredricksburg, and the North Pole Flyer.  We are actually going on the North Pole Flyer with a big group of friends - we have an entire car to ourselves for the 3 hours - so excited....

-Last year, we started a tradition that I want to continue - we hosted a Christmas Pajama exchange for Sis and all of her friends - it was adorable.  This year I am thinking of doing a separate one for the moms.  Instead of cocoa and cookies, maybe wine & chocolate???

- And Christmas presents?  I have a few things...I didn't do anything yesterday on Cyber Monday.....I just haven't gotten there yet....

So, as of now (Tuesday, Nov 29), I am officially NOT STRESSED about Christmas.  I am not going to allow myself to get stressed (I am going to keep repeating this to myself until it's true).  IS IT POSSIBLE?  We'll see......

Happy Holidays Y'all!!




12 comments:

Connie said...

I love that MERRY!

People tease me....but getting the gifts/cards done early means that you can decorate at your leisure and ENJOY the holiday.

VandyJ said...

This reminds me, I need to dig the advent calendar out of the attic for the boys tonight or tomorrow.

Becca said...

I love the way you think, and if we all could see that the holiday is more than the things that we get, we would all be so happy..I am going to take you up on the no stress mantra!

Jill said...

I'm trying so hard - SO HARD - not to stress about Christmas. This post has helped. ;) I got my decorations up this past weekend, but I still have to do cards, and I'm only about half-done the shopping...Reminding myself to breeeathe...

Maria said...

I love the Christmas Tree made of hands it's beautiful yet simple.
I've decided I'm keeping Christmas presents simple as my kids are teens but I'll still make a lot of hot dishes in the kitchen.
We went on line to buy some cheap phones from Tracfone and we have stuck some beautiful artificial diamonds onto 2 of the phones, stuck some pictures of horses on my son's and on my husbands new phone we have stuck on some metal lettering that say 'worlds best dad'.
Nothing beats buying gifts on line, it saves so much time and effort and when you get them delivered you feel spoilt when you open up the parcels even though they're for someone else.

Robin said...

Wine and chocolate would be fabulous!

Macey said...

I haven't really looked at the Pinterest Christmas stuff because it will freak me out.
I want to see a picture of your Dept 57 houses!

Macey said...

ER! Dept 56. DUH!

Impulsive Addict said...

I love that you threw in an Austin link up! I don't have time to blog either. I'm so overwhelmed but you know what? The message from your pastor sat well with me too. I need to remember why we celebrate. My biggest nuisance right now is traveling. But after I return from Denver, I'm home for a very long time. Whew!

I've seen all those things on pinterest. They look cool. How are you doing your Advent calendar? I would love to do one if it isn't too hard. Of course I've never made one before.

Ok, are you still doing your Friday link up this month? I've been sucking it up in the blogging world lately.

Thanks for linking up!! I'm going slightly crazy in Oklahoma right now so I'm sorry I'm just now commenting! Love ya! xoxo

Darling's said...

Good luck ;) I just might have to take your Christmas tree craft idea and attempt it too, super cute!!

Surrounded-By-Boys said...

I too, have decided not to get so stressed out this year. I want to ENJOY this time with my family--and remember the REAL reason for Christmas! I've gotten all my decos out, but not all put up yet...I'm just taking 10 or 15 minutes every night and doing what I can. I've enjoyed it much more that way.

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

I am going to try very, very, VERY hard not to get all twisty and stressed about Christmas. Good plan. (You're right though... Pinterest does not help.)

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