Home for the Holidays
“People will forget what you say, people will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Images of the holidays are flooding our timelines right now and creating a plan that may be different than what our everyday lives represent. Let’s stop the timeline and create our own images and plan for the holidays. When we live with intention we can interrupt all of the messages for urgency at any time. By slowing down, and focusing on what matters most we can rewrite our own script for the holidays.
For some holiday time is a stressful time and filled with memories that aren’t so fond. For others the holidays bring a warm feeling that we look forward to. As parents, we are creating lasting memories that our children will live into, so let’s be intentional about memory making and the holidays.
A to Z parenting we begin with the memory of this season that focus on spaces and slowing the time down to think and imagine what we want our days to be full of and to feel like. Memories are made by intentional focus on what matters most to those you care about. Sitting by the fireplace tonight, I am reminiscing about my dad. The fire brings me right back home to my childhood home, watching daddy tend the fire to warm the house for us. It’s by the fire, that we read our books, drank hot chocolate, and talked as little girls. We had no idea what it took to build that fire, but we were the partakers of its warmth and memories.
What we remember of those times are the rituals of my dad’s life, and the lessons they taught us. He payed attention to the details of life. He remembered fresh flowers on your birthday.
He loved the smells and scents of the perfume we wore as daughters, coming home for a visit. He remembered the details of the recipes for lemon curd, cranberry mold, and the lemon pound cake. It was in the routines and the partaking of rituals that he lived.
As we enter the holidays, let’s focus on those moments and creating space for rituals. This holiday season in our home we are focusing on being home for the holidays. The home is our centering place that we move from. We use our home as a space to express who each person is to our family and world around us. Creating spaces at home to gather for fellowship, fun and festivities brings everyone home.
Here are a few tips to keep home at the center of your holidays:
Create spaces for living and sharing.
In your home look at the spaces you have for gathering together. Two chairs positioned near each other with a small table that holds a carafe of hot cocoa and two mugs becomes a space for sharing a cup of hot cocoa. A sofa with a blanket and comfy pillows becomes a place to snuggle and watch a movie together. Create bedrooms that smell of Christmas scents and invite you to come in with a Christmas throw and fluffy pillows.
Capture the memories.
Memories are in the stories we tell. Keep a journal and jot down what you’re thankful for each day. As you gather the memories take pictures and tape them to your journal. This creates a memory journal of your experiences each Christmas and you get to revisit them every year as you unpack your boxes.
Spread the Joy and invite others to join you.
Invite friends over to share in your family rituals by having a cookie exchange. Everyone bakes two dozen cookies and leave with a variety of cookies to enjoy for the holidays. Our favorite to bake are gingerbread cookies in the shapes of a family. We eat some, and we hang some on the tree. This year’s tree is home for the holidays, with gingerbread cookies, bundles of cinnamon sticks, rolling pins, and ornaments with aprons. What will you create?
Conversations over Hot Cocoa.
Create a hot chocolate bar. It’s so simple. A box of hot cocoa mix, candy canes, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and mugs. Set it out in a special place and invite your family to enjoy each day. Just keep it stocked up and ready for guest who may stop by as well. In our family, we have hot cocoa every day from December 1st to December 31st.
Coffee and Tea.
Our family loves to drink coffee and tea in the mornings for a slow start to the day. Enjoy your coffee and share conversations about what’s ahead for the year, and ideas for celebrations. This is so important I actually write it into my planner to be sure coffee time with my hubby happens weekly in the midst of our busy days.
Popcorn Stations.
Holidays are synonymous with movie-time and snuggling with a warm blanket. Create a popcorn bar with an old fashioned popcorn maker, and flavored popcorn salts to add to your popcorn.
Create a welcoming table.
Decorating a tablescape that is edible or interactive. Include a giving tree with notes of encouragement for all who sit at the table. A bowl of fruit and nuts welcomes everyone to enjoy and be nourished.
Decorations that share your story.
Rather than buying into the commercialized decorations create your own special displays or trees. We created a fishers of men tree last year to represent our work in discipleship of others. A new addition to the family was Maestro our cat, so he had a tree with little cat ornaments on them. This year we will add a tree for Grace our puppy who is growing so fast. A tree for the sports the boys have played, with ribbon and décor to match their favorite teams or photos of them playing the game.
What will you create in your home to express your family joys and experiences? The holidays can be filled with moments of everyday living and joy when we plan with intention and keep centered on what matters most.
