Five Ways to Have A Truly Joyful Christmas.
I love Christmas (have I mentioned that before... yeah... thought so). I love Christmas tree and the lights and the music. I love the baking and eating and parties. I love giving gifts and the anticipation of giving those gifts. I love receiving gifts too (obviously). I love the spirit behind it... peace, goodwill, and joy.Christmas can get overwhelming and heavy though... heavy with the tradition of it all. The decorating and the shopping and the wrapping and the baking and the cooking and the feasting and the partying... and just that need to be jovial. The pressure of creating that joy of the season can be to much to bear. Now- I love all of that. I really do- and I'm not saying those things are ruining Christmas. All of those things can be really distracting though and too much focus of that stuff just brings stress and not joy.Christmas is this awe-inspiring yet simple reminder of hope. Hope in its purest and truest form- waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises to the Jews (and ultimately to all mankind). Christmas is the celebration of a hope fulfilled- and that brings true joy.Of course... what does that mean? How do you focus on purposely focus Christ? How do you actively foster hope and joy... but also enjoy the traditions that we all love?
1. No Tradition Merely for Tradition's Sake
Do you feel like you have to bake those cookies but you really don't want to? Or feeling completely overwhelmed by the idea of sending out Christmas cards? Then don't. Christmas will still be amazing if you pick up store bought cookies. People will still feel warm wishes from you if you send them an email or give them a call. Stick to the traditions that you highly anticipate- focus on the ones that fill you up instead of stress you out.
2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Decor, gifts, time... it all applies. It may sometimes feel as if you have to recreate a Christmas Winter Wonderland in your home for Christmas to come and be real. Or that you have to pile on the presents for those around you to feel loved. Simplify and focus on quality. Find a gorgeous wreath and put a little extra effort into your tree if the idea of decorating is overwhelming you. Limit yourself to one or two thoughtful and meaningful gifts. When it comes down to it- it is the quality time that you spend with your loved ones that creates memories and feeds the spirit of Christmas.
3. Be Still for a Moment
The Christmas season can become very rushed and frantic with all the things filling up your to do list. Take time to just sit and enjoy a quiet (or maybe not super quiet) moment. Maybe its to spend time in God's Word and pray. Maybe its watch a Christmas movie with your family. Or maybe even just to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa for a moment. Just give yourself time to breath and be still. If you rush around and do everything and never take a moment to just be- you'll exhaust yourself all the way through Christmas.
4. Practice Gratitude
It is easy to feel gratitude when you open a gift you're excited about of course. I'm taking about the everyday kind of gratitude- the kind I talked about a couple weeks ago. Gratitude in the long lines at the registers. Gratitude while wrapping all those gifts. Gratitude in the moments leading up to Christmas. Gratitude for the ultimate fulfillment of hope and the One who gives joy.
5. Participate in Charity
Extend yourself out beyond your family and your friends. The world needs our love and our attention. There is no better way to experience contentment and joy than to give to someone who can't give back to you. There are so many ways to give back during the Christmas season with food banks, clothing drives, and special charity events. Things like participating in Dressember, packing a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, or picking out a gift from the IJM Gift Catalog make it incredibly easy to give and share in the experience of helping people all over the world.