And then it was all over......

How crazy we all get for just a few days a year!!

I hope and pray that your Christmas was a blessed one, but it always amazes me how much pressure we put ourselves under at this time of year!!

I'm thinking about this because I took our trimmings down today. 

For me, Christmas is done on my birthday, which is 27th, and since I don't want to do a lot on my birthday, they usually come down the day after. I was sick yesterday, so I have made the effort after church today to take them all down and get cleaned up in the house. 

As I look around my bare room now, it makes me think of all the fuss that goes into Christmas.

I'm not talking about being prepared, I'm talking of the stress over things being just so for the in-laws, or making sure we have enough this or just the right that! 

I like to spend Christmas just us in our home, after many of my younger years were spent working, but Boxing day is usually our time for visiting with family. This year, we were the guests at my mum's. We usually host her, but with DH work commitments, she invited us to her house, and we had a lovely time. I am very lucky to have a relaxed family, with no formalities or rigid traditions to govern me, and it was a relaxed, lovely time. 

On Christmas day itself, we spent time in the morning thanking Jesus for all the generosity we had been shown with all the gifts we had received and Christmas dinner was ready when it was ready!! 

We had a lovely quiet family day, and there was no stress, just the peace and joy of time spent together and with the Lord. 

As Christmas should be.

I am truly blessed. 

Consumerism gone mad??

Is it just me, or has Christmas just got more and more about "STUFF"???

As we approach this special day, every year seems to become a competition of who can spend the most amount of money on the most amount of stuff for the most amount of people and win!!

When did this happen???

I didn't grow up in a Christian house, so it was never really about Christ, unfortunately, when I was a kid, but we always spent time together, watching various films as a family, and just enjoying each other's company, with good food and a gratefulness for the things we did get!!

Now that I have grown up ( a little....), I want to instill some of the same things in my children; spending time with those you love and a gratefulness for what they have, but also an appreciation for the greatest gift mankind was every given.

A way back to God.

This holiday is not about Stuff. Jesus was given meaningful presents by the Magi, and a small, thoughtful present is the most we have done this year. Instead, our focus will be along the lines of the American Thanksgiving. We give thanks for our family around us, who have thoughtfully given us presents. We are thankful for the special treats and food we can put on our table, and the means to do so. We are thankful for a roof over our heads and heating and lighting. 

But most of all, on Christmas day, Santa falls by the wayside in the presence of the KING of kings and the Lord of lords, our most precious gift, Jesus Christ. 

So there is no mad rush on Christmas Eve in our house, there are no £££££ signs in our children's eyes as they stare at a mountain of useless "STUFF" that will be forgotten by suppertime. There will be fun and laughter, thanksgiving and prayer, and Jesus.

Amen.

Shop til you drop....off to sleep

So It's the Friday before Christmas. 

I'm not just stating the obvious, I'm letting that sink in!! 

Today is the final shop for us, the Food Shop!!!!!

How do we beat the crowds, I hear you ask. It's mayhem, why leave it so late, you say.

Well, my hubby has developed a secret weapon over the years...... nighttime shopping!!!

We go at 11pm when the store is so much quieter, and we can get all we want, in peace and quiet, without getting pushed or shoved or screamed at, and we can get it home and put away before the children are any wiser at the goodies coming into the house!!!

Now there are downsides to this:

• If you have little ones, it may be hard to get a babysitter at that time of night, if you cannot ask a family member.
• The store usually stocks up at night, so they may be out of a few of the things you want.
• You either have to stay up late, or get up REALLY early, and I struggle with both of those options, so a nap in the afternoon will ensure I stay awake for the lesser of the two evils, late night shopping.

We have decided on a pared down Christmas this year, on the food front. For years, we have gone mad at Christmas, boxes of sweets, gallons of fizzy drinks and alcohol, and tubes of crisps. Not so this year. we are spending our money on good fats (goose fat, butter,) Nuts and seeds, and meat. My Bone broth will make it into almost every meal, and so will our good fats, so that when we do occasionally indulge in sweet things, (like at nan's on boxing day) then our bodies are equipped to handle it from the goodness we have been getting the rest of the time!!

That's my plan, now this sweet tooth junkie just needs to stick to it.

I figure, if I don't buy it, I can't eat it........right??........

Christmas time, Mistletoe and wine.....

It's Almost CHRISTMAS!!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that Christmas is my MOST favorite time of the year!!

I just love the cozy nights, the twinkling lights, and the fact that we take the whole of December to do Christmas crafts and watch Christmas films (a hundred times each, much to DH's disapproval!)

So our Christmas craft list looks a little like this:

1. 3D Christmas trees
2. Christmas cards for our church
3. Night time chalk pictures, winter scenes
4. Silhouette Christmas theme pictures
5. baking ginger cake
6. baking Christmas shaped cookies, and of course the good old favorite,
7. paper plate snowmen!!!

Our 3D trees are beautiful, but the refuse to stand up for more than 30 seconds at a time, but our church Christmas cards were a HIT!!! Simple, (just some colored card with a stencil drawn on the front with our Christmas cookie cutters!!) but very effective when colored in with metallic pens and each of the kids' personal touches on!!

I love homemade cards and gifts, I just think it shows you are thinking of people in a personal way. It's extra special when it's your children who make them!!!

So we are having great fun with this Advent, how about you???