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Yes, that time between Thanksgiving & Christmas is busy… fun, but busy! It is probably the busiest month in our family. We have school performances, family parties, family dinners, cookie exchanges, Christmas parties, shopping for the best deals, decorating the house, making the most thoughtful gifts… That’s just the surface. There is so much more that goes into this holiday season.
Every year, my family visits Hilton Head at some point during our Thanksgiving or Christmas break. My grandparents lived there for over 30 years, so the island is like a second home to us. Mickey and I have been searching the internet for a place to stay at some point this winter (we like to find a vacation house and just head down for some biking and relaxing with the kids). It’s like the calm in the chaos of the holidays… a reward of stillness after being so busy. It is like eating your favorite treat & drinking your favorite glass of Gallo Family Vineyard Wines when everything around you is chaotic… it is just a nice feeling of peacefulness.
I can remember being there, a few years before my grandma passed away, and coming out around midnight when Jack, our oldest, woke up to get a drink. I was up for hours afterward, because I can never fall right back to sleep like Mickey does. 😉 My favorite thing about nighttime in Hilton Head was walking out into the living room and seeing my grandma, sitting in her chair with a glass of wine, reading her favorite book.
She used to sit under a reading light and drink her wine from a regular water glass, never a wine glass. I always loved that about her, because it was like she didn’t need to be fancy or do anything more than what made her & her family happy. She was content to just have a peaceful moment, to herself, in the middle of the chaos.
As a mom, I feel like every day I have the ability to be that for our family: the calm in the chaos. Holidays can be crazy… filled with parties and presents and baking. It can be fun, but overwhelming. I want my kids to remember that it was busy, but fun. It was chaotic, but wonderful. It was rushed, but joyful.
Most of us will be invited to cookie exchanges and we will try to bake 6 dozen Christmas cookies…
(like my chocolate peppermint cookies)
We will make hand-made gifts for our family, our friends & our kids’ teachers…
Remember… you don’t have to do it all. You can BUY cookies instead of making them (shhh… we won’t tell anyone). You can order gifts instead of making them or shopping for them. Just do what you can to make your days more enjoyable.
When the holidays come and we have places to be, people to see, gifts to buy… I can just be their peacefulness. Things don’t have to be stressful. Nothing has to be as big of a deal as we make it. When we live by the motto ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ things just work out better.
When our kids are worried about something or stressed, we say “What’s the worst that could happen?” and chances are… it’s not so bad. Enjoy life, enjoy your time with your family, cook meals that they’ll love, read a book with a glass of wine (here is where to buy it) and just be the calm in the storm for your family.
Check out Gallo Family Vineyards Facebook for some more peaceful moments. I love their pictures. 🙂 Have a wonderful {peaceful} holiday season. 🙂
