Home for the Holidays!

Heya babes and HAPPY SATURDAY!

Okay, so by the title of this, you’re probably expecting some post with links to all the things you need for your home to make it beautiful for Christmas this year. There’s a time for that, because believe me… I believe in that. I love making my home as festive as possible every year and creating a special place for memories for my little family.

However, that’s not the point of this post. (If you want decor ideas, go here!) But here is what I wanted to share about a little: Prepping your home for the holidays goes way beyond the garland and ornaments. As the holidays inch closer and closer, I know there is probably this looming feeling of “gotta do”, “gotta buy”, “gotta deal with x, y, or z”, because the holidays can often bring up within us hurts or unmet expectations or a need to buy and spend and keep up.

DON’T DO IT! This year, I hope you can feel the freedom from pressure of the outside- whatever that may be for you. Whether  it’s certain people or just cultural pressures, you are free from that and you just have to walk in it. Here are a couple ways you can ENJOY your holidays more this year!

 

1. Choose a budget for your family over the next two months and stick to it. Pull the cash and put it in an envelope titled “Holiday Fun.” Seriously, cash envelopes are a game changer. If you can’t put your whole budget in the envelope ahead of time, then go through your budget for November and December to see how much you can put in it bi-monthly as you plan for your Christmas activities. Include outings and presents in this budget! Then, stick to it. It’s that simple. Go through lists of things happening in your city this season and pick the ones you really want to do! Plan out your holiday season and make it FUN without spontaneous spending. Get a calendar and write out on it family activities for the season. Family movie nights in, Christmas light drive, hot cocoa and visiting Santa, Christmas shopping day, etc. You will enjoy the holidays more without the pressure of money or overspending. That starts with planning it out well!
2. To start off this year on the freedom train, yeah we are calling it that, I spent hours this week cleaning my home out of things we don’t need anymore. Bags of baby clothes, toys, odds and ends, clothes from mine and Paul’s closet… PURGING. I do this fairly frequently with my own closet, but I forced myself to get rid of baby things we don’t need or use finally (and I may have cried packing up Knox’s tiny sneakers that don’t fit anymore.) We went through all of his toys and got rid of ones he doesn’t tend to play with so that they can go to other kids who will. We sat down and dumped out everything! Knox helped as I would ask him what he wanted… I am not kidding, y’all. Your kid isn’t too young to make choices! We will take all of our donations together to the local Goodwill and make it special. I want Knox to hear us, though he won’t fully grasp it right now, say how important it is to give away what we’ve been given. We get to graciously give to others and share things. That is the spirit of Christmas and I want my kid to KNOW IT from as young as possible. That’s the gospel on full display for my 2 year old.

Anyways, we got rid of so much. I have ONE drawer of tiny baby toys in our office for future babies, and then one 3 shelf unit in Knox’s closet of toddler toys he actually plays with. A couple friends told me recently they actually OFFER to their kids a few options for the day and their child chooses one or two toys to play with… We have tried this for two days and already it’s amazing.  Rather than making a disastrous space to play, dumping out everything, they have a few toys to be imaginative with for the day. Knox played with his Christmas Train and Tree for 4 hours, role playing and laughing by himself. FOR REAL. All from just having less to overwhelm his ability to play. Kids get over-stimulated with too much… and now I believe it more than ever before.

Give this a shot! I want to know how it works for you. At the end of the day, the holidays are honestly better when rooted in simplicity. I mean it. More isn’t better. Spending doesn’t mean special. Enjoy your time with your family and make the most of every moment this holiday season! Your home can be the most special space for your family, and it starts with simply being intentional!

xoxo,

Han