A Peaceful Christmas Part 1 – Keeping it simple brings peace.
Before I end the holiday season I want to say something about my Christmas and about Rule of Engagement number 4, keep it simple. I believe that keeping things simple is a principle that leads to peace. Really I do. So I want to share how my husband, Don, and I used this principle this Christmas to have just that, peace; a peaceful Christmas. It will take two blogs to tell you all about it.
We decided that we weren’t going to spend any money this season. Yes, you heard right, no money (except for shipping.) We weren’t sure how we were going to do that with one mother still with us, eight grandchildren and seven children of our own and assorted spouses, not to mention all of our friends and members of our church. It was something that we were really going to have to think about.
I want to report that we were able to almost keep that promise to ourselves. We did purchase one thing for a baby (under $10) and a two year old ( under $6.00) and a magazine subscription for a 15 year old, and we bought a few cookie making supplies. Oh yes, and Don cheated and bought me a book that I adore!!
I am going to let you in on how this simple decision to simplify the season brought us peace and I also want to share a few of the peaceable experiences that we shared with our family.
We only went shopping once for about forty minutes. Not shopping was an amazing experience. It gave us more time to be together. We spent more time each evening curled up on our sofa reading Christmas stories and drinking hot coco. It was wonderful. We didn’t have to fight traffic, crowds or worry about accumulating any more debt. That in itself was very freeing.
We had to talk a bit more about what we were going to do with our family for Christmas. That led to some conversations about Christmases past and Christmases future. Loved that!
Another decision we made was to not run around going to everything that came along. We were going to be picky about where and when we celebrated. We attended Don’s work party, went to Temple Square with my youngest daughter’s in-laws and our families and spent time in the homes of our daughters. That was it.
We also decided to serve more than shop or bake or party. That had some unexpected gifts attached to it. Tomorrow I’ll share some stories of how our children felt about their simple inexpensive homemade gifts and what our grandchildren thought.
The whole point of the decisions that Don and I made this year was to live better the principle of keeping it simple and peaceful. I think that our efforts paid dividends.
Possibly Related Posts:
- My Christmas Gift to You
- Why take Your Kids Camping?
- Self Care for Better Parenting – Part 2
- Self Care for Better Parenting – Part 1
- Our Stories Shape Our Lives – Part 2
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I love this! I’ve noticed a trend of people trying to simplify Christmas. We did that, to a point, but in the end, I gave in and did buy a few things for the children. I bought us all dart guns so we would have a fun activity to do with the children. I happened to show up at a field where they were playing a few months ago and joined in their game. They were delighted and I had a ball, not to mention getting more exercise than I’d had for, well, never mind, but for a very long time. They also got new bed sheets, a toaster, and a nice, comfy chair for the computer. Besides that, we’ll be taking a trip when our missionaries get home, so all the money that came from grandparents is going toward that. I appreciate your comments and I’m looking forward to reading your next post. I’m hoping to continue to collect ideas and each year to be able to simplify Christmas more than the last. It was much more peaceful for me this year than it has been in years past.
Melody