Holy Pinterest. I love the platform, but man I can get lost in it and pinning everything I wish I’d do for the holidays. I’ve now embraced that I may get one craft/DIY thing done each year, but I will never have a house that looks like my dream pinned options lol
If you believe popular blogs and holiday guides, you may think that everything to do with Christmas from the tree and decorations, to the food, and even how you wrap your gifts has to be perfect. That’s simply not true and deep down you know this. Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable. In fact, I want some of those oh-so-put-together blogs to post some real views of how some Christmases they just let it go…ya know, human like.
Wonky cookies taste just as good. Believe me, I’ve made them and every last one was eaten. Handmade ornaments with their flaws are charming. Mix and match holiday decorations reflect your style, your family history, and bring back lots of lovely memories. Memories are where it’s at!
A burnt pie or an undercooked turkey may seem like a bit of Christmas dinner disaster, but they also give you stories you’ll retell and laugh about for years to come. In fact, the night before Thanksgiving we ran out of propane which is what we fuel our oven/stove with. My mini-pies looked a wreck and now we’ll laugh about it next year when I give it a second try and can cook them correctly the first time.
Stop striving for perfection. Instead, focus on enjoying this amazing time of year. At the end of the day, it won’t matter to your children, spouse, siblings, or grandkids how perfectly you wrapped their gifts. What matters is that you chose something meaningful. Don’t spend hours upon hours getting the tree decorated just right if it stresses you out. If you’re enjoying it, by all means go for it, but don’t force yourself to create someone else’s picture of a perfect holiday home. Instead, turn on some Christmas music, get the kids, and have fun decorating the house. Then pile everyone in the car with some hot chocolate and go look for Christmas lights.
When you feel yourself falling into the trap of wanting a perfect Christmas, think back on your favorite childhood holiday memories. I bet it wasn’t about having the perfect tree or nativity display that couldn’t be touched. Instead, our most precious memories are things like baking cookies, making ornaments, or singing Christmas Carols at the top of our lungs.
It’s also important to realize that we all go through tough times. Some Christmases will be lot more challenging than others. Maybe there was a death in the family. Maybe you lost your job right before Christmas. Maybe the water heater broke at the most inopportune time. It happens and while there are thousands of things that could happen that could potentially ruin Christmas, how you react to any of them is up to you. Some years, you simply make the best of it and move on.
Do what you can to give your loved ones a good Christmas, and chances are doing so will help cheer you up as well, no matter how big the challenges you’re facing. It’s often these unusual Christmases that will stand out and matter most to your little ones.
But, most of all, embrace the unperfect Christmas. Give in to the fact that it makes you happy not to be stressing about creating someones vision of what your holiday should look like. Enjoy what it is and what is humanly possible. Then let the rest of it go.
Happiness is a choice. Live with no regrets,
PS – For those of you that are already stressed out about the holidays, download my new free report Reduce Stress During The Holiday Season. It includes the Less Stress Holiday email series. This post above is day 4.
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