In a blur it's all over with... otherwise known as the Christmas recap!

January 05, 2011

In a blur it's all over with... otherwise known as the Christmas recap!

It was here, and then it was gone... almost like a flash of lightening, but with way more cookies and laughter. Christmas 2010 was one of the best in recent memory for many reasons:

1. "The Calendar" - Right before Thanksgiving, I printed out a jenky-looking calendar from the Internet. I then went through several community calendars, web postings, newspaper websites and the like and wrote down all of the holiday events that interested me on the calendar on their respective days. I also added in other things I wanted/needed to do such as purchase the Christmas tree, bake cookies, shop, etc. It helped me have targets for the fleeting amount of time before Christmas Eve and helped me get into the holiday spirit a lot more quickly. We had our tree up earlier than we have in years this year and that made me so happy! Below you see the before shot on the lot... we won't talk about how crowded the tree lots were when we were shopping... just enjoy the glow of those LED lights:

The after is below. I think our tree last year was a little bit prettier, but I liked this tree a lot too!

2. The Messiah - Obviously, Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus, and often that gets lost in all the other hubbub. This year I took my mom and grandma to a performance of the complete Handel's Messiah at the First United Methodist Church and it was fabulous! Orchestra Nova and the Bach Collegium performed the piece three nights in a row and this was their last night. It was very moving and I highly recommend it!

3. No over-decorating! We have a barely 1,000 square feet apartment. It can only hold so much and I've packed too much into it already. So this year I scaled back and only put out some of our decorations. I love those pillows I picked up at Crate & Barrel last year... just my style: contemporary with a touch of homemade!

4. The December Daily - I decided to really commit to doing a daily album for the days leading up to Christmas ala Ali Edwards. I didn't quite get something down for every day, but I got pretty close. I'm still pasting photos into the album, but when I'm done I'll take some photos. Taking a picture and focusing on some aspect of Christmas every day definitely helped my spirit!

5. Teaching a holiday craft class at work! *gasp* - I'm not sure quite what inspired this notion, but I decided to offer a class to people I work with to make a mini album out of a Starbucks cup. I had to reschedule one time, but finally taught the class during lunch on December 20. There were 10 people there and all of them said they had a great time! The class ended up stretching way longer than an hour, but it was great to see people so happy and to do something creative at work! The conference room table got really messy, but it was worth it!

6. Sushi, aka, dinners with my husband - I usually try and pack so much into the holidays that Steve and I don't get to spend much time together leading up to Christmas. This year, I think because of a conscious effort on my part, and "The Calendar," we got to spend some more non-hurried time together and it was great! Here's one sushi dinner... yum!

7. Tradition with a Twist - I love tradition, but sometimes we get so wrapped up in doing what is "the tradition" that we forget why we're doing something in the first place. I tried to not be unreasonable with what I could accomplish and to remember why doing what was tradition was important, and when it wasn't important to me, I didn't do it! The freedom in that decision was lovely. For example, this year I decided I didn't need to box my cookies in tins, as is the tradition. Instead I bought theseVegware Clamshell Box, 50-count Package containers and they were the perfect size and good for the environment! A little bit of the old with the new! The photo below is a candelabra that my grandparents have had forever. Oh my goodness, how I love that thing!

8. My new phone - Steve and I finally got new smartphones, Droid Xs to be exact. The freedom that this phone brings has been really nice, plus it has a great camera built in! I took all of these photos with my phone! That's not to say I'm not still in love with my camera, but it's a little bulky to carry around sometimes!

9. Prayer and peace - My desire to pray and really connect with God on a personal level was renewed this season. Again, I do not know exactly why, but I am grateful for the renewed desire and the peace it brings with it.