Christmas. Santa. Ornaments. Presents. My head spins every year and then I get caught up in the chaos and spit out the other side wondering how it all went by so fast.
There are several great articles I have read on Christmas. One I read last year about redeeming Santa Claus. This year, I read an article about how Christmas has been hijacked. If you have the time, please read both, they say it better than I ever could.
We are making changes to how we focus on Christmas.
No traditional Santa – he won’t be giving gifts in our house. He’s too much about consumerism and ‘me, me, me!’ And really, if a toddler has to pick between Santa and baby Jesus, let’s be honest, he’ll pick Santa. We’ll talk about Saint Nicholas, the real person who once lived and sought to show Jesus’ love to those around him. If Jude wants to sit on Santa’s lap, no biggie. But he will know that ‘Santa’ is just a man dressing up as a fictional character.
We have already been doing our little advent activity. We are reading one verse a day in the story leading to Jesus’ birth. Each verse is on simple Christmas card stock so once we finished reading, we chain it together with velcro. Simple and reusable. But it keeps us focused daily. I hope this tradition sticks.
We are simplifying gift giving. I love this little pneumonic for gifts during the holidays: Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read, and additionally (something to give). We are also going to do small gifts in stockings – gum, candy, markers, etc. We haven’t bought much for Jude the past two Christmas seasons because, well, he doesn’t really get it. But he certainly understands presents now. And we are going to focus in and keep it small. The season will first be about Jesus and second, spending time with family. Gifts will just be a little extra benefit.
And my on-going struggle. Buying items that do not support slave labor (top 13 items most likely made by slave labor). For awhile, I will keep this at the front of my mind and will resist buying that cute whatever that’s on sale. And then I cave. I want to look cute. I want to be trendy. And then I buy that thing that’s on sale without questioning whether I am wearing (or eating) someone else’s mistreatment. Is looking cute ever worth abusing someone’s basic human rights? What is my faith if I am not caring for others in every way possible? That’s worth refocusing how to spend our money. Oh forgive me because I fail in this over and over again.
In case you are wondering about a few good websites for items that are made without slave labor (in addition to the ones listed in this post), these are some of my favorites:
And lastly, focusing on simplifying. The holidays are busy, that’s no new news to any of us. So this season, regardless of how busy we get, I am trying to make things simple. Nothing needs to be overly complex this season. That includes cooking, gifting, schedules . . . simplifying it all!
What have you been pondering as this holiday season approaches?





































