255 - My Extreme Christmas Goals
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Happy November! I am setting the bar high this year for no one but myself. I feel like this is going to be a podcast experiment. I’ll let you know how it goes, but today I am sharing with you my extreme Christmas goals for this year.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
When I think about the name of this podcast, “Work and Play”, I realize this touches every area of our life. There is work and then there’s play. The time of year that we are approaching right now, as it is November, is a time of a lot of work. There’s a lot of heavy lifting. A lot of schedules and events. There’s just a lot of work that goes into preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, I have a new tactic. I don’t know if it’s going to go well. I don’t know if I am going to come back and say, “I’m never doing that again”, but I am going to try something because I feel like my plate with four kids is very full.
I have it in my mind that I really want to be present, focused on the Lord and giving in the month of December. The reality usually is that I am a little stressed out and it’s a little much. There’s a lot of Christmas programs and a lot of things to do. Even though I try my very best to be organized and get things done ahead of time, I don’t always do the best job at that. There are things that get added to our plate at the last minute.
This year I have decided to set some extreme Christmas goals for myself. I don’t know how Will is going to feel about this. I mean, I have already told him and he knows. Sometimes I can get these ideas and he’s like, “Okay, here we go!” Hopefully they will be a blessing to us and our family. I actually think he’s going to be on board with it and we’ll be all for it, especially when we talk through the organization and finances of it. I digress. Let me just tell you what they are and then I can talk about them a little bit.
Okay, first, and I’ve said this a couple of times on Instagram. It might not be anything new to you. First, I want to finish all of my Christmas shopping and present wrapping by December 1st. I want it all to be done. I should’ve said this first, but I’ll say it now. In case you’re listening to this episode and little ears can hear you or you’re playing it in the car, let’s just say I am going to talk about some Christmassy things that are just for parent’s ears only. Depending on your household and your traditions, maybe just pop in those airpods and listen to the rest without your kids listening in.
So in order to finish all my shopping and wrapping by December 1st, that means I have to start working backwards. Now, I know it’s November when you’re listening to this episode, but October (this is my second goal) was the month for me to finish all my stocking shopping, make all of my lists, solidify my schedule, and basically organize everything. We usually do a master Christmas list for gifts and budget. That was “due” in October. I wanted all of that completely done. Every family member and person we have to buy for, I wanted it listed out and done.
The third goal is that in November, I am going to execute the plan. I am going to buy everything. I am going to wrap everything. I am going to hide everything. I am going to make sure that everything is neatly labeled. I am going to organize childcare so that I can actually do these things without my kids around. I am going to do the thing in November.
So those are my big Christmas goals. I know that was kind of in a weird order, but that’s how my brain worked to make sure that my goals happen. I want to share with you the bigger goals; the “why“ behind the timeline that I am choosing for this year. Those three were the timeline goals, but there are really five bigger goals for the “why” I want to do this and be so extreme about it this year.
Number one is that I want to be present in December. There’s a lot of things going on in December, as it is true for every family. In our family, my birthday is in December, Beaufort has a birthday in December, Jesus’ birthday is in December, and there’s a lot of things going on. I envision December being so beautiful; a season of advent, singing, and enjoying the end of the school year. I want to be present. That is number one. I feel like if I don’t get all the shopping and details done ahead of time, I won’t be able to be present.
Number two is I want to make sure that I am doing what I say I am going to do. “Let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ by no.” That is reflected in our calendar. I want to plan out our calendar ahead of time so that in December, I can already say “yes” and ‘no.” If anything pops up, I will already know what we have committed to and if we feel like we have the capacity to do it. I want to allow the planning ahead to serve our family well.
Number three is I want to replace the stress of last minute shopping with music and baking. My girls have been taking piano lessons for several years. Beaufort just started this year. There is a little booklet of Christmas songs that we can learn on the piano and be able to play duets together. There is something so magical about that at Christmas time, but I don’t have time to practice in December and I have got to practice. When we do that as a family, it is so lovely and fun.
I also love to bake with my kids. It’s so fun! They also love to bake with mom. Again, sometimes our schedules are too full and I have last minute things to do that I have to say “no” a lot. This year, I want to be able to say “yes.” I want to replace my stress with music and baking.
My fourth big “why” goal is I really want to be present at holiday parties and celebrations. Whether it’s our family’s birthday parties that we share in December, Christmas caroling, or an end of year party, I want to be there and not feel like my brain is overwhelmed with to-do lists.
My last “why” behind all these extreme goals that I have this year is… something I can’t tell you yet, but I will tell you soon. I promise. I will just say this. There are some exciting, big, fun, new changes happening in our family and December is a big month for that. I want to be able to enjoy what’s to come without feeling like my brain is in a million places.
There you have it. I promise I’ll tell you the “real real” on number five soon enough, but just not yet. All that to say, there is always stuff going on in lives that not everyone knows about and that’s okay. I want to plan ahead so that I can show up for my family in the very best way possible. That’s really the crux of this. That’s really why I’m doing this. If I like it, do a good job of it this year, and feel like it’s going to really take a burden off my shoulders in December, maybe this is going to become my new thing. Maybe October is going to be for planning and stockings. November will be for execution and getting everything bought and wrapped. Then December will hopefully be for enjoying the holidays, the season of advent, and for focusing on giving and celebrating God with us; Immanuel.
I hope that encourages you. I just thought of another goal that I didn’t even say, but I do think that it’s worth saying. Financially speaking, another thing we usually wait at the last minute to do is our end of year giving to ministries and churches. I don’t want to wait until the last minute to do that so I am going to go ahead and add to my goals to finish all of our end of year giving by December 1st too. Then again, we can just enjoy December and not scramble at the last minute.
Guys, this was a short episode today. I am excited for what the end of this year is going to hold. I’m excited for challenging myself. If you’ve been listening to my podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me say these things before. I have tried to do some of these things before and it has not gone so well. But I feel like this year, I have this new fervor and I really am ready to do the thing and get it done. I am excited to see how it will serve me and my family well. Hopefully this will inspire you. You don’t have to do it exactly like I am, but maybe one or two things you can do ahead of time and it will help you breathe a little easier around Christmas time.
I am going to close with words from Laura Ingalls Wilder who said,
“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.”
