Advent is my favorite time of the year. It’s not because I am particularly religious. I just like anticipation, coziness, and snow. I’m also a fan of warm food. Having family around is good too.
For a few years, I started to dislike advent. Sure, I would plan all year to buy my Christmas gifts before the end of November, since I really don’t like going to stores when it is busy. But that is not why I disliked the season. I disliked it because even though coziness, family, and warm food are supposed to be a part of the holiday season, it seemed like we were out all of the time at one event or another.
I wanted to enjoy my home and my family during the holiday season, since home and family and celebration is what this season is about. So I developed a few survival strategies for December.
First, as I mentioned above, I begin some serious Christmas shopping in the summer months. I like to finish everything by November. This means that I don’t need to go to a store for anything except the usual essentials in December.
I have a set week to do my Christmas baking, and I take the entire week off work if I can. I do this on the first week of December so that the cookies are ready to be frozen or can go out to people across the city in ample time for Christmas. That way, I don’t feel stressed about baking, because feeling stressed about baking is just silly.
I love to make homemade gifts, but as a mom who volunteers and works full time, I don’t really have a lot of time to do so. My solution is that I plan a few special homemade gifts and I make them in the summer. Summer is when my husband has some time off and my daughter plays outside with her friends. It’s much easier to sew and knit and crochet and preserve food in the summer, because I’m not caught in the house all day with a small child. I also bring crafts on vacation because I like crafting and our cabin is a great place to do it. Find your own quiet time of the year and do the same.
I also limit events to one per weekend. I make a conscious effort to say no to some gatherings. I try to make sure that we see each relative once, preferably at a big gathering. If I want to connect with people one-on-one, I plan to socialize with them in November, January or February. I make these plans before advent begins.
With all of this organized, I can enjoy being home and celebrating the season. What do you do to make advent a little quieter?