Getting through the holidays

Hey, momma! So happy you carved out a moment in your busy day to join this conversation! I’d love to hear your thoughts on our topic today— find us over on IG @ellieandtheboys.co, and let’s keep chatting! ALSO, check out the list at the end of this blog for some of our favorite ways to make the holidays special.

Since I’ve got you for a second, can I just ask you to take a deep breath? I know the holiday season can feel overwhelming, like you’re losing control of everything, but just breathe momma— That’s better, right?

Now, how are your lists coming along? Decorating, gift shopping, baking, school activities, church programs... it’s a lot, I know. And here’s something I want you to remember: It’s okay if the house isn’t picture-perfect. It’s okay if all you can manage is a store-bought pumpkin pie. really—it’s okay! Just remember to breathe

And this, momma, is exactly why we’re here today. Let’s talk about how to get through the holiday season—not just surviving it, but getting through it in a meaningful way.

Some might say the holiday season is just the fourth week of November and the week of December 25th—that’s plenty of time for holiday celebrations, right? After all, life doesn’t stop because it’s the holiday season. But I want to push back on that and say: The holiday season begins right now. This very moment is the start of the 2024 holiday season! Yay!

If you’re in the first camp, I’m going to ask you to read this with an open mind and just imagine what it could feel like if we viewed the entire end-of-year stretch as an opportunity—an opportunity to slow down, celebrate, and make lasting memories. Does that sound okay? Alright, let’s dive in!

Did you know our kids will hold onto the way we celebrate moments in life for a very long time? It’s true. They’ll carry with them the little things that made ‘celebrating’ special: how you decorated the tree (I still smile thinking about my mom setting up ours on the first of November), they will think back on how they got to choose the music on Saturday morning pancake days, or how you made birthdays extra memorable. They’ll remember the thought you put into celebrating life’s wins and the way your traditions made them feel. These memories—these moments—will be the things they carry with them and think back on, long after they’ve grown.

A few weeks ago, I was messaging with my siblings, and one of my brothers started describing this almost-perfect scenario of all of us being together for the holidays (wishful thinking for this year). But here’s what stood out—he was painting a picture of us all being together as adults, with our own children but he was describing our time together as it was when we were kids. He was bringing out memories that we all hold close.

It made me realize how easy it is to think that making memories requires a big budget or extravagant activities. In a world where we’re constantly being told to buy this and buy that, it can feel like meaningful has to equal expensive. And that’s simply not true. A truly meaningful holiday season has nothing to do with our wallet and everything to do with our intentionality.

When the new year rolls around, and spring gives way to summer, my kids will look back on the previous holiday season. And oddly enough, they probably won’t be talking about the gifts they received (though they were appreciated). What they will talk about are the memories we made. The new traditions we created that they want to carry on year after year—and maybe even some old traditions they missed.

Even though every holiday season is different for us—depending on where we’re living and what life looks like—we’ve made it a priority to make the end of the year mean more than just shopping and making lists. Both of those can be fun, but we’ve chosen to make this time of year something we look forward to wholeheartedly by filling it with memories. Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying we need to fill our days with things to do to be meaningful! We still need to remember what the season is really about. I’m simply challenging a small shift in our perspective— to realize that a meaningful season can be more than the gifts we give or our wishlists being met. It can be about making the smallest of things something quite special.

For example, we don’t have hot chocolate regularly but come holiday season, there will be a hot chocolate bar of some sort somewhere in our house. And if money allows, we may pick up some chocolate spoons from the dollar store to make it extra special. But do you know, we’ve had plenty of years without chocolate spoons, and it has been just as memorable!

What I’m saying is, it doesn’t have to look a certain way to be filled with memories. Getting through the holidays doesn’t have to be a checklist of things we have to do but it can be things we get to do, things that add value to our season.

To wrap up, here is a list of intentional and meaningful things we love to do around the holidays. Take some ideas from it, add your own, and let’s make this holiday season one of the best yet! Download it for free here

-Wrap books. Not new books necessarily, but ones you already have! Set aside one or two nights each week to unrap one of the books and read it as a family. some of our favorite winter reads include: The Carpenter’s gift by David Rubel, The crippled lamb by Max Lucado,

-Music. make a playlist of your family’s favorite holiday songs! play them when you are baking, or in the car and, sing loudly to them! music is a great way to cement memories. Anytime they hear that jolly tune come on, they will be flooded with your memories surrounding that song.

-Christmas Pj’s. matching Christmas pajamas are always a good idea. A tip, get next season’s pajamas on sale once they mark them down at the end of the year!

-Draw names. instead of overbuying gifts, have everyone in the family draw names and give homemade or store-bought thoughtful gifts. This limits the amount of gifts and requires everyone to think intentionally about the person they drew.

-Snowball fight. when we lived in the south, a white Christmas was only seen in dreams. Snow only fell one or two days in January if we were lucky. But every year the kids and I had the best snowball fight ever! I purchased a bag of fake snowballs and pulled them out for an epic indoor snowball fight! I can still hear the giggles and the slides into the wall as they ducked to grab a snowball on their way down the hall. Now, if you live in the north, where there is plenty of real snow, take the fight outside. stop reading this and get out there and play with them! Just be sure to come back to finish the list.

-Make ornaments. we love to make ornaments each year. sometimes they are simple popcicle stick sleds painted red with a ribbon so they can hang on our tree and other times they are spun on the lathe. whatever way you choose to make them, bring everyone in, crank up that Christmas music, and get crafting.

-Paper chains. This is a simple way of adding holiday decorations at low cost. Make them out of wrapping paper or cut strips out of old magazines. The kids make some every year and we hang them everywhere! It Makes all of our rooms festive and bright.

-Hot cocoa station. Grab whatever hot cocoa mix you love, add some mini marshmallows to a jar and your Christmas cups, and you are open for business.

-Puzzles. Fridays after we finish school, we like to set out one of our winter puzzles on the school table to work through on the weekend. A simple way to make space for conversations, downtime, and connections.

-Pancake Day. Make snowman pancakes! or reindeer if you have the skills! I personally do not, I can make a decent snowman and call it good. But make those pancakes and laugh about how they turn out. We aren’t looking for perfection here, just memories made.

-Find free things to do. Depending on where you live, it may be a bit harder to find but there are usually plenty of options to choose from. Some ideas include: driving to see lights. A Christmas production done by a local church or school. Lighting of the tree downtown. Holiday parade. Sledding. Helping at a local shelter. Have a Christmas light scavenger hunt. Go to a tree farm. have a family game night (holiday edition). Watch a holiday movie with friends.

Your turn! Add some things to your list and remember, they are only suggestions! You don’t have to overpack your season to make meaningful memories, it’s all about the intentionality you put behind each thing you choose to do.