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As we head into the holiday season – Thanksgiving for those of us in the United States, Christmas, New Years Eve, etc. – there can be this temptation to try to make everything magical. We make all the food, decorate, curate our homeschool around the holidays, do crafts and projects, and plan aaalll the things to make memories. And pretty soon, we find ourselves exhausted and can’t even enjoy any of it.
I’ll admit, I rarely have made it through a Christmas season having gone completely through all the Advent activities I expected to do with my kids. Because halfway through, I am tired of adding in all these things that are out of our routine.
So… I don’t do them anymore.
Not that I don’t do the things that are meaningful to us and help us celebrate holidays in a way that is fun and brings memories. But I don’t do the things that burn me out! I keep our holidays pretty simple, including what things I bring into our homeschool during this time.
Books
Books are high priority for us (this is probably not news to you ;) so I make this a high priority during any holiday. I pick a few must-read books that we pull out again and again, and then I try to add one or two new ones every year.
Books anchor us to the season without overwhelming us with a longer to-do list. We get to snuggle up on the couch and connect to our kids, instead of rushing from place to place, activity to activity.
Advent Calendars and Devotionals
If a daily Advent calendar as a family is stressful and keeping your family from focusing on Jesus during the Christmas season, let go of the guilt of doing it every day! These activities should point us TO Jesus. Do it every other day, or weekly, or when it fits your schedule if doing it daily is too much in this season. Or find a short devotional that you can read during your school time or before bed. Let it be as simple as you need it to be. Focus on Jesus, instead of the activity.
Here are a few of the Advent devotionals and Christmas books we have used over the years:
Crafts
Crafts are a LOW priority for me. I have occasionally gone to the dollar store and purchased some holiday craft kits, letting my kids do them when they want to and if they want to. But it’s not something we all do together as a big activity. Last year, we held a low key Christmas party with some homeschool friends, and we ate snacks, played a few games, colored Christmas coloring pages (from the freebie in my shop that I’ll add below) and had the craft kits out for the kids to do.
Traditions
Holiday traditions do not have to be elaborate, complicated, or expensive. In fact, our simplest traditions are the ones our family remembers and looks forward to the most!
Traditions like making baked oatmeal for Christmas morning breakfast, putting up ornaments together, driving around to look at Christmas lights, and reading the same books over and over. Using Christmas dishes, making the same potato casserole for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These simple traditions make memories just as well as something that is elaborate or expensive. Holiday bucket lists are only fun if they are sustainable and not draining for you!
Try asking your kids what traditions are important and meaningful to them. They might surprise you! You might find that the ones you are working so hard to protect are the ones that your kids could care less about in the end. This can help you figure out which traditions you should actually spend your time no this year.
Say No
If you say yes to everything during the holiday season – all the parties, parades, fun events, activities, baking, etc. – you won’t enjoy any of the holidays! Say no to the things that keep you from actually enjoying this time with your family.
Protect your peace during the holiday season! Keep empty spots on your calendar, say no to the events that you know are going to leave you stressed or crunched for time, and be selective with your yes.
The internet lights up during the holidays with all the things you “should” be doing with your kids. You get to choose what drains you (these are the things that get your NO) and what gives you life (the things that get your YES). You can even take a few minutes to make a simple list – thing that drain you vs. bring you life. Spend some time evaluating and praying about what should get your yes this year.
And if you’re in a busy season – you have a newborn, you just moved, you’re in the middle of a health crisis, etc. – give yourself a lot of grace to put aside the traditions, activities, and crafts that normally would be high on your to-do list.