Did that just fill you with glee or make you do a big anxious gulp?
Are you Cool, Calm & Christmas Ready or are you trapped in a Frantic Festive Flap?
Me? I'm a bit of both this year.
I have nowhere near achieved my eternal goal of being all done and checked off by December 1st so that I can just chill out & enjoy the pre-Christmas merriment (truth be told, after all my little famalam's been through in the last few months, I'm probably the furthest from that I've ever been!) - but I'm okay with it! Because here's the revelation that's been getting clearer & clearer to me in recent years: It's just another day.
Okay, disclaimer: I freaking LOVE Christmas & everything about it. BUT. Really and truly, it IS just another day on the calendar, so however you're celebrating, remember that it does NOT need to be 'perfect' to be magical, and it is SO not worth stressing yourself out over tiny details. (Trust me, I've been there - it's really really really not!)
I used to dream of a 'perfect' Christmas; where my lounge looked like a Cath Kidston photoshoot & Christmas dinner looked like I was BFFs with Jamie Oliver, but here's the thing: that's not real life, and that's okay! When the cards are down & the baubles are back in boxes, nobody will remember if the roasties were a little chargrilled or if your wreath was a bit lopsided. They'll remember your 5 year old reading aloud a cracker joke for the first time or your dad & the dog snoring in harmony throughout their food-coma nap. The fun, or heartwarming, or silly, spontaneous memories will always be the best bits, and you can't plan those, however organised you are.
And just to get reeeally schmultzy on you, all the good warm & fuzzy stuff that Christmas brings really should be something we strive for in everyday life anyway - whether there's a big fake tree taking up half the living room or not! If you're celebrating Christmas in a warm, safe house with one or more people you love, you're very blessed - regardless of how many gifts are under the tree or how fancy your dinner is. For all too many people, there's no cheer at all, no gifts, no turkey, no trimmings. For others, who might have all those things, Christmas still just plain isn't a happy time, for any one of a million reasons. What I'm saying, without trying to sound too much like a Dickensian ghost, is be grateful for what you have; because however imperfect it might be, I guarentee there's someone out there who wishes they had even half as much.
So. In a nutshell, don't sweat the small stuff. Embrace your wonky gift wrap, your real life home, use frozen roast potatoes if it makes like easier! (Nobody will know!)
Just do your best, smile lots, and have a very Happy Christmas, full of whatever makes it magical to you & yours.
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