Taking Christmas Slow

Around here we like to take Christmas slow and enjoy the season. We have no rush to get everything decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving. We want to enjoy each and every part of Christmas in its time.
So how do you take Christmas Slow?

1. Only put up a few decorations at a time. We began on Friday by finding our advent wreath. This year my son made ours. We followed that up on Saturday with the Nativity Sets. I mentioned one year that I wanted a Nativity Set and everyone and their uncle bought me one. I have the family Fontinani Set in the living room. We are very hands on with this set. Each bedroom has a small set and the bathrooms and kitchen have one. By decorating fist with our Advent decorations it helps us to remember that Christ comes first in Christmas.
2. We make time to enjoy each of the little events little up to Christmas. St. Nicholas Day, Christmas program at school, picking out the tree, putting the tree up. Each one of these occasions is celebrating in its own right and day.
3. Wait to put up the tree. When everyone used fresh trees and heated their houses with wood or coal there was no rush to bring a tree into the house. Many families had the tradition of decorating the tree on Christmas Eve.  Growing up we would put our tree up the Sunday before Christmas and decorate it then. That was also the day my grandmother would arrive to start cooking her bounty. Now we wait until Gaudete Sunday to put up our tree. It is a fitting celebration for that Sunday. We make cocoa, and enjoy popcorn while decorating the tree.
4. One thing I do get done early is my present shopping. And I take advantage of sites like Amazon and Amazon Prime to ship my gifts to my far away family. By getting my shopping done and out of the way I am able to enjoy time with my kids – doing the Christmas things I want to do, not standing in lines to buy presents and then wrap and ship them.
5. With the busyness  of the season, school parties, Christmas programs at school, Office parties, parades, and everything else I make it a priority to pick just one event each week to attend. I want to be able to enjoy each event not have to rush from one party to the next.  Saying no during the holiday season also gives me more time with my family.
6. Wait until Christmas Eve to have the kids put up the Stockings. My family likes to use the same stockings every year. These are stockings that I made for them their first Christmas.
7. Make the focus on family not on the gifts. Our children only get three gifts from Santa. the gifts are for body, mind and soul. Santa also puts presents in stockings, 5 in all – one for each sense.  They are not overwhelmed with gifts.
8. Speaking of Gifts  - Santa does not wrap his gifts at our house. The kids have access to those right away but we wait until after everyone has had breakfast to open any other gifts under the tree.

What are some of your ways to Slow Down Christmas and make it last the whole Season?

This post is linked up to Simple Lives Thursdays

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