Simple Ways to Keep The Holidays Holy
Last year I wrote a blog titled Miraculous Over Magical where I shared my ongoing internal struggle with manufacturing holiday magic over creating space for the holy and sacred. This year, I thought I would get a bit more practical in sharing some of the ways our family has fought for holiness in this season.
Let me begin by saying that more does not always mean better. You don’t need an hour long nightly ritual to ascribe meaning to the madness. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is determine going into the season what you have the bandwidth for. Sometimes our “no’s” are the holiest offering we can give.
Sometimes our “no’s” are the holiest offering we can give.
Each year we try to implement only one new tradition at a time. Some things stick and some things don’t. Let’s be honest – some things are just hard to do with young kids. Growing up, we never celebrated Advent with the traditional candle lighting (although Christ was still very much taught and shared in our home) so I really had no reference for its significance. But with the rise of Pinterest, all it takes now is a simple search for Advent traditions to fill your feed with thousands of unique ideas. From Jesse trees to devotionals to handicrafts, it can so easily become overwhelming. My advice to you would be if this is your first year practicing Advent, don’t try to eat the elephant. Start simple and honor the small things. They hold so much more significance when we aren’t trying to cram too much into a space that calls the silence holy.
Our first tradition was to read a Christmas book before bed each night. The first year was the biggest investment because I purchased 24 books, but each year the same books disappear after Christmas and return come December first. The following year we added an element of attaching a simple wooden ornament to each book where I had hand written a name for Jesus. So upon unwrapping the book, an ornament also gets hung . We have a small tree in our upstairs loft devoted to these ornaments and books to keep things organized and simple and it’s become such a sweet thing to look forward to each December.
My oldest son turns seven next year and although he is now very familiar with the nativity story, I want him to experience the anticipation of Christ’s birth above all the other thrills of the season. The best way I know to do this is simply through repetition and taking every opportunity to share the story. So last year I created a very simple nativity scene with peg dolls that sits in the playroom. It’s theirs to use and play with however they desire. It’s not breakable or strictly decorative because I know that having their little hands on those wooden props will only further the reminder of why we celebrate. For that reason, baby Jesus may or may not be currently MIA, but I have a lead on a shady toddler who loves to hoard tiny objects under his covers.
Because we’ve added to our traditions slowly and many of them are self sustaining after the initial upfront work, we are trying out something new with Mary on the Mantel. The idea is for it to be an alternative to Elf on the Shelf. Mary sits somewhere in the house and holds a note for each day of Advent. These notes are intended to be simple acts of kindness for our children to complete each day to remind us of the gift of giving. Because we are homeschooling this year, we finally had the bandwidth to try this out. I stumbled upon the idea last year but knew we would be stretching ourselves too thin to try to make it happen. In addition to acts of kindness, I’ve sprinkled in some fun Christmas traditions like “look at holiday lights” and “watch a Christmas movie in your pjs”. (I’ll update later to let you know how this goes.)
Homeschooling has provided us with a lot of freedom and time to do these things. Because Cyrus is only in first grade, there is not the burden to cover heaps of material, so Advent will get to be a big portion of our curriculum. I understand that this is not everyone’s reality (or desire for that matter) so this is your friendly reminder to keep things simple. It’s not a race or a competition. The best thing we can offer up to our children this year is our attention and affection. They know when we have overcommitted, when we are too stretched thin. My boys get the worst of me even with my best intentions when I am trying to do too much.
Maybe you feel like you’ve already dropped the ball or missed your chance. This year, try collecting books or ornaments so that you’re ready for next year. Or maybe you aren’t the least bit crafty and would prefer to purchase a devotional to read aloud. Maybe your family would benefit most from a simple candle lighting at the dinner table on Sunday evening and a prayer of gratitude. All of these things are wonderful ways to put the miraculous over the magical. Our traditions are far from perfect and constantly evolving as our boys grow. Once we exit the feisty toddler stage, we hope to do more service projects together, but until then we will do what we can to share the love of Jesus where we are.
It matters far less how you choose to acknowledge as it does that you actually acknowledge. This season can so easily become filled with many things. Let us not forget the most important one of all.