In this post:
- Reflecting on the last year
- How to make the most of the holidays
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Reflecting on the last year
It’s that time of year where we find ourselves caught up in the magic of the holidays. Glimmering stars top trees everywhere you look, every home lights up the night with brightly colored, festive lights and Christmas decorations, Christmas songs play in every store, delicious smells of holiday baking fill the air, family and friends travel far and wide to be together, and it’s suddenly socially appropriate to wear dorky sweaters with elves on them. Yes, even I’m guilty of owning a tacky sweater that has Santa and Jesus high-fiving each other amidst falling snowflakes. Without a doubt, the Christmas season is the most wonderful time of the year.
For many though, it’s also a reminder of what was gained this year, and what was lost. Maybe you took on a new job or made a massive career change, maybe you finally found that special someone that is different from everyone before. Maybe you moved homes or across the country, and are making new memories in a new home this holiday season. Or perhaps you’re mourning the loss of a family member, and you feel their absence even more with the holidays approaching.
A lot can happen in a year, and the holidays are there to remind us (whether we want them to or not) of what we’ve gained and lost.
My year had its ups and downs. I graduated from my Master’s program and started a new job. My sister had a beautiful, healthy baby girl and so I became an aunt again. My husband’s and my relationship was tested more times than I can count, and strengthened, time and again, from every challenge that was presented to us.
While I made new friendships that offer hope and strength for the future, other friendships faded into the background as friends chose other paths or other friends to absorb their time. And yet, older friendships from childhood resurfaced in surprising ways.
Just days ago, an unlikely, sad event brought my childhood best friend and I together in a way that I could have never imagined. Bringing a child into the world is such an age-old, routine and still miraculous life event, and yet for my friend, a sharp twist of fate ended her new baby’s life just before she arrived into our world.
Standing over her too-little, too-soon grave with my friend, I wondered how long it would take for her, this girl I grew up with and shared so much joy and pain together, to feel whole again. I wondered how she would feel not having the Christmas baby she had hoped for, or the new start to the New Year that she and her husband had anticipated and prepared for so long.
It hardly seems to be the merry Christmas that everyone talks about when we consider tragic moments like these that comprise so much of our lives. However, it is from these challenging, heartbreaking moments that we really learn the most about ourselves, and rediscover our resilience through experiences that we would have never chosen to live through.
Christmastime isn’t just merely a season of giving or receiving presents, making sure the turkey is cooked perfectly, or finally getting time off from work. It’s a time of renewal, reviving our hopes, making new memories, and reminding ourselves of what we have that truly matters.
With this in mind, we all need some timely reminders about the meaning of Christmas, particularly if/when the holidays become stressful. Here are some ways to celebrate the holidays to the fullest this year, as well as some tips to feel the true spirit of Christmas.
How to make the most of the holidays
Set aside time specifically for family and friends. Christmas is a time to show appreciation for your family and friends, and to let them know how you care. Plan meals to cook together, to share together, decorate the Christmas tree, or perhaps spend an evening playing board games. Whatever your family preferences are for activities, make the time to do just that.
Watch the traditional and not-so-traditional Christmas movies. Definitely make the time to watch the Christmas classics, such as Miracle On 34th Street
, It’s A Wonderful Life
, White Christmas
, and A Christmas Carol
. But also try a few other Christmas movies that emphasize the beauty of new beginnings. Love Actually
, The Holiday
, and The Family Stone 
are a few of my favorites.
Bring the aroma of Christmas to your home. Brew up the festive spice of the holidays one morning and let the smells simmer on the stove for the day. Try a combination of orange slices, cinnamon, and cranberries (Pinterest has a ton of Simmer Pot Recipes). The cheerfully delicious aroma will fill the air with the scent of Christmas.
Choose to accept your family and relatives for who they are. The holidays can be a stressful time with family and weird cousins, aunts, and uncles showing up (think National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation). Try to remove barriers of judgment by reminding yourself that they mean well. Enjoy their unique company and quirks this season. You never know what the future holds for the next day, not to mention the next year!
Help the less fortunate. We all have things we wish we could change about our lives, our selves, or our current situations. But realistically if we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and loved ones to look after us, we are already far more fortunate than so many others. Spend a day or an afternoon volunteering at a homeless shelter to remind yourself what it really means to be charitable, kind, and thankful.
Research the history of Christmas and share your findings with family and friends. Rediscover the history of Christmas through a quick research sesh online. Though we probably all learned about Christmas’ history when we were little, it doesn’t hurt to refresh yourself on this.
Start a new Christmas tradition this year. Start a new tradition this year that can be carried over to the next. Invite your family and friends over to an ornament or cookie (or both!) exchange. Swap favorite holiday recipes. Or pick an official Christmas movie night leading up to the big day. Whichever custom you choose, ensure it is one that holds meaning for all those involved.
Bring the Christmas magic back to mom and dad. Remember all the times you would wake up as a child on Christmas morning, and run out to the family room to discover perfectly packaged gifts and stockings chock-full of goodies? Surprise your parents by reciprocating what they did for you on all those magical mornings of Christmas. Make breakfast, brew some coffee, put out gifts, and hang up the stockings – your parents won’t forget it!
Choose gratitude over all. Christmas has become a heavily commercialized and materialistic holiday over the years, leaving us wanting and wishing for more things than ever to further clutter our lives. It’s easy to fall for the trap of wanting and buying more things than we actually need as a way of temporarily filling our lives, rather than fulfilling them. You probably know by now through my previous posts that I’m a huge fan of journaling. This Christmas, choose to focus on what you already have and what you’re grateful for. Make time to write down what you’re thankful for at the end of each day. Grow your gratitude and reinforce positive thinking habits by noting what you’re especially grateful for in your life, and this Christmas season.
