Planning This Years Christmas

This year Christmas will be different. It won't be the smorgasbord that we are use to from previous years, or the prime rib or duck, or the pressures to battle the shoppers and the frustration to not find the perfect gift for all of our family members that we will get to see during the holidays. To be truthful, it has been awhile since I have enjoyed the Christmas Season.

(Picture on the right is from a couple of years back, below that is our Christmas Platters)


I am looking forward to this Christmas Season. We are doing some things different that I am excited about. We are doing a home made or second hand Christmas. I have already started making some of the presents. We told the kids that they are only receiving 3 brand new presents and the rest will be home made or second hand. At first they were sad, but now they are getting into the spirit of giving through love of creative work done through their hands.

We are cutting down on our platters, which is so nice. They take a lot of time, energy and stress.

If we are hosting the family dinner, we are planning on having Turkey instead of spending extra money on prime rib or duck. We are still going to smoke it and it is so yummy.

It is funny how changing Christmas to a smaller budget would bring the true meaning of Christmas out. I am excited to put Christ first into our Christmas, instead of the busy stress pushing Him back behind the priorities that we think are so important at the time.

Last year was the first year that we tried an Advent Wreath. We found ourselves too busy to finish the readings on the second half of the month. I am looking forward to celebrating all 4 weeks of it. I am also thinking of other ways to bring Christ as the center of our Christmas season.