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That Ever-Elusive Christmas Spirit

It's that time of year... everything is gearing up and getting busier and more hectic, and our calendars are getting more crowded by the minute!

I love Christmas time, though! Even aside from the spiritual emphasis for us - I also love it because I love searching out and finding the PERFECT gift for those I love! Since our extended family is constantly growing, it becomes quite the juggling act of finding the perfect gift for them and finding the perfect price range for me! ;-)
Seriously - I counted it up a couple weeks ago, and J and I have 16 neices and nephews to buy for now. We each have only one sister, so my sister and his sister get off pretty lucky, as we only have one man-child that they have to buy for! LOL
In all the hustle and bustle of gift-finding and family events and planning, (even though I LOVE the giving part) I tend to get pretty overwhelmed and anxious...
I mean, I start out with all good intentions: This year, I'm going to keep it simple. This year, I'll have all the presents bought by the 15th. This year, we'll stay in our budget.
I'll get all excited about the decorations and the family time putting up the tree and ....then those nagging little thoughts start piercing through...
Will this niece like that gift or will she think it's silly and cheap? Will these parents get offended at the toy choice for that child? What if we forget someone? What if one of the gifts gets left in our home and we don't realize it till we're at the grandparents' house?
And inevitably, I reach a point where I just say, "You know what? Who cares?!" And just try to survive the remainder of the holidays with my family. (Notice I said "survive" here, not "enjoy".)
Am I the only one that overthinks and over-analyzes things? Probably not. But when I'm in the midst of those times, it certainly feels like I am!
I'm going to be honest here: I haven't really found the cure-all for this. No magic pill that I can take to suddenly make things right again, and turn my brain off. This ALWAYS creeps back up on me.
But I have found a few tricks. Maybe they'll help you, maybe they'll see silly (see, there's that over-thinking thing again...), but here's what's in my toolbox for a healthy outlook this year.
1. Find something routine - and stick with it! We all know that routines can be calming. But we all ALSO know that the Christmas season does not take kindly to routines. So instead of stressing about keeping to your routine every.single.day....find one thing that is there just for you and your mental health....and stick to that.one.thing.
Maybe it's carving out time to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, before the rest of the house wakes up; or taking a walk on your lunch break outside; or on your drive in to work, turning the radio off for some prayer time.... whatever it is that feeds your soul, do it! It doesn't have to take an hour - just a few minutes will help, I promise!
2. Say no. I don't know about you, but I love being with people during the holidays! BUT...I've learned this about myself too: When I have something planned every night of a given week, my anxiety level goes through the roof - I'm talking like at the beginning of the week, I'm already stressed out because I know I'll have no down time! And you all know how it is when Mom is stressed out... it affects the entire family! So I'm trying this year to practice the art of a gracious "no".
I know it's important to go to some things - work parties, church events, etc. So when we can, we're hosting some things at our house, and some things we're trying to combine....but some we just will have to ask to meet up AFTER the holidays. Before you get worked up over that, remember - your friends will likely understand IF you feel the need to tell them that you're trying to have an intentionally less busy season. BUT.... you don't have to tell them. Just politely decline, but immediately ask for an alternative get-together date so that they can see it IS important to you, but you just have to work it in at a different time.
3. Remember why. Sounds cliche to say "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season"... but it's true. As much as I love giving gifts to the people around me, as much excitement as the lights and music of the season can bring, as much joy as I get from being around family I haven't seen in months....none of that is the REASON that we get to experience all that.
My little family has a tradition of buying one "special" ornament each year. We have so many now, that we have a "special" tree just for the "special' ornaments. One year, my husband and son picked out this ornament for our "special" tree.
It's been such a special (see what I did there?) ornament for us each year since. My son HAS to turn all the lights off in the room and push the button to make Linus give his little Peanuts speech.
And when all else fails (I know I shouldn't wait that long for this, though), I can go back and remember WHY I now have the chance to love on family and friends, and eat way more than one person should, and laugh till I cry at my nieces and nephews (and my son) and their antics.
You may want to save this link - it may help you remember the WHY - and help with that elusive Christmas spirit!
And THAT'S what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown ...or Tabatha Rewis, or {insert your name here}.

Merry Christmas, my friends!

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