You've seen the commercials for Allstate. "Life comes at you fast" is their slogan. Boy is that the truth. Christmas is only 45 days away...now that's fast!
This past Saturday I invited a small group of friends over for our first "Intentional Holiday Tea". I've come to realize that my good intentions mean nothing if I don't back it up with action. I can approach the holiday season with an "Oh my gosh I haven't done anything, let's get everything done today!" mentality, or I can do things with a bit of foresight and purpose, thus alleviating a great deal of stress and making life a LOT more enjoyable.
The idea behind the tea was to jump start our holidays, while sharing ideas for organizing, decorating, favorite recipes or treasured traditions. Boy, did I invite the right bunch of ladies! They were full of fantastic ideas. By the time we left, there was a feeling of excitement in the air and no one had the "deer in the headlights" look. I think that means it was a success!
Since I can't have you all over for tea, I thought I would host a cyber tea. Just pretend your sitting around my dining room table with a tea cup in your hand. Instrumental Christmas music drifts over the room as you enjoy strawberries, quiche and scones with devonshire cream and lemon curd. Oh, don't forget the chocolate truffles. Care to join us? Take a minute in between bites to share your thoughts.
What do you do to make your holidays special?
What is your favorite family tradition?
What organizing tips can you offer to take the stress out of holiday planning?
Share your favorite recipe. You know, the one that gets rave reviews at all the parties.
What things will your children remember and pass on to their kids?
Thanks for sharing tea with me. I pray your holidays are filled with purpose, creativity and many wonderful memories.
What do you do to make your holidays special? We like to have the family over for Christmas games and good food. We read the story of Christmas to the kids over and over again
What is your favorite family tradition? Hiding all the presents in my closet until Christmas Eve after the kids are asleep and then putting them under the tree
What organizing tips can you offer to take the stress out of holiday planning? make it simple, I don't like to remember the chaos
Share your favorite recipe. You know, the one that gets rave reviews at all the parties.Gravy 2 cups of Turkey drippings, 2 pks dry gravy packet, 1 cup water, 1 can cream of chkn (or cream mushroom) Heat on stove.
What things will your children remember and pass on to their kids?
That time with their family and Jesus are more important than any gifts we receive
:>Michelle
What do you do to make your holidays special? I try to concentrate on giving, not to my own family as they are spoiled year round... I give to the community.
What is your favorite family tradition? Our Family Breakfast that we host. We usually have anywhere from 50-75 people come and go sometime that morning. We pick an organization to sponsor and send out a list of things that the organization is in need of. We have picked anything from Rowlett Needy Childrens Fund, to a nursing home, to a womens shelter. Tyler also held a coat drive for his Eagle project that Christmas and we handed out over 300 coats to Rowlett Needy Children and adults.
What organizing tips can you offer to take the stress out of holiday planning? Don't wait, and keep it simple. You don't have to be a super mom. It also helps that I usually go on a cruise either right before or right after Christmas to relax!
Share your favorite recipe. You know, the one that gets rave reviews at all the parties. Goodness, I don't cook that much. Probably my Cheesecake ball that is from Homemade Gourmet is my biggest hit.
What things will your children remember and pass on to their kids? I think they will remember giving back to the community and the tradition of going to my aunts for Christmas and Day dinner.
Way to be intentional! I'm so bad at this! I might think of these kinds of things, but rarely follow through. It sounds like a delightful time!
I'm not at all ready to start thinking about Christmas. I like to enjoy Thanksgiving first.
But I'll attempt to engage a little bit in this adorable tea.
We celebrate St. Nicholas' Day. That's pretty unique and special for us. The kids are already talking about it. It's definitely a favorite memory of mine from my childhood.
We also celebrate Advent and light the candles every night. One year we read a Ytreide book (awesome and out of print! ugh!). Last year we decorated a Jesse Tree. I think we'll continue that.
I don't have ANY organization tips. Ha! I'm the one who finally sends out Christmas cards for Valentine's Day! Hey, that's a great tip! People love getting Christmas cards 3 months late. It's such a pleasant surprise and they appreciate it so much more because it's the only one. :)
So what about you? What are your favorite traditions and what do you do to make things special, and what organizational tips do you have? and of course, please share a recipe or two! :)
The daily, sometimes hourly, musings of a homeschooling mom of four surviving on prayer, friendship and lots of Starbucks. Some days my cup runs over and some days it all spills out the cracks...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
