This year my pre-Christmas life has been most awesome and calm and enjoyable. As I've been mentally just reviewing some of the steps I've taken and goals I've followed through with to get to this point- I thought I'd share. I'm sure many people have these same ideas or even better ones. But I want to remember this for next year and probably add on to it every year:
How to Get to Christmas in Peace:
1. Keep the kitchen clean.
This has not always happened, but as I've kept dishes done and counters clean, projects and baking and cooking haven't been as stressful. Projects take a lot less time as I don't have to first clean up before I start. It also feels really good to wake up or come home to a clean kitchen. I don't feel like I have as much to do.
2. Wrap presents as you buy them.
It really works. I know it's difficult at times, but I at least kept up on it. Every few days I'd wrap for 30 minutes or so. Put on some Christmas music or a movie. I gathered all the stuff - gift wrap, tape, extra tape for when that other tape runs out, two pairs of scissors, ribbon, tags, tissue paper- all of it so I didn't have to keep stopping and getting up to get more supplies. Wrap as you go. This is age old advice but it really keeps the burden down.
3. Shop online or pre-shop online.
I love shopping. So much. I actually like crowds and busy-ness. But the problems for me at Christmas time is 1.-availability of merchandise and 2. time itself. So like everyone says- go out early. Which I have always done, but this year I added a lot more shopping online and pre-shopping online. So when it came time to actually go purchase gifts- I knew what I wanted. So my time in the stores was not frustrating, but productive. If I didn't know what to get my Mom- I browsed amazon.com for some time snuggled on the couch or when I had a minute at work. Then when I found what I knew would work- I took myself to the mall to pick it up! So I get my "reality" shopping in while not having to wander around and get nothing done. Or I just bought it online. Amazon is AMAZING.
4. Limit your self to certain tasks per day or certain hours per day
This one was huge this year. I usually try to cram in as much every day as possible and then still feel like I got nothing done because my lists were still full of things I wanted to do or I didn't finish all my projects for the day.. So I kept telling myself "just do this one thing today and see how it gets done completely". Or "today I'm only going to shop for one hour and then go home". Or "today I need a nap". And I was okay with that.
5. Go to an extra school music concert
As a choir teacher I'm surrounded by Christmas music all the time. Every year I have two concerts with my students and I always count those as my Christmas concert attendance. Honestly, Natalie? Being in charge of a concert of 110 junior high singers is not exactly the most peaceful event. Haha. So this year Hunter and I made it a point to get to an extra concert where I was not in charge and we got to sit in the audience and just partake. I loved it. And it actually made me reflect on my singers and how well they're doing and it got me excited about what I learned and how I can help my singers improve. And of course it gave us some quiet time to feel Christmas.
6. Read all the scriptures under "Jesus Christ" for scripture study this month.
Seriously. This one is awesome. There are a ton of scriptures about the Savior- obviously. But I've been going through each heading- "Jesus Christ, Advocate", "Jesus Christ, Birth of"...etc. It really helps me keep Jesus in every day. I am touched and amazed as I connect different ideas to one another and feel of HIS love.
7. Enlist help
Our small family includes me and Hunter for now. Usually as I put up Christmas decorations or shop or cook or bake, I take control and want it all to be perfect. This year I've allowed myself to let imperfections arise. Hunter and I finally successfully decorated our Christmas tree without an argument; he has helped a ton with kitchen clean up, decorating and cooking. And it really is better to do everything with him than on my own, right? That just makes everything feel more cozy.
8. Do not listen to Christmas music all the time.
I don't know what is up in my OCD head but every year at Christmas I feel like I HAVE to listen to Christmas music all the time from Black Friday till Christmas. I feel like I'm not truly "living in the season" or "getting the most out of Christmas" if I'm not tuned in to Jingle Bells, Feliz Navidad and the First Noel all the time. I think "this is the only time of year I can listen to this stuff so I need to soak it all in". Not this year. Yes, most of my car drives and home tunes have been Christmas music- but I've taken the time to find my favorite albums and songs from years back. It is so fun to listen to my favorite album from five years ago or a sweet playlist I forgot about. Music is all about making you happy and giving you the "life is so good" feeling. And when I finally realized that Christmas music for 5 weeks straight wasn't going to do that for me- I felt quite a bit more merrier.
That's all for now. If I think of more I'll edit them in.
