So beautifully written, as always, Meagan. As the mom of one 12-year-old (going on 25!) child, I’m feeling so much of what you shared. I’m also navigating the sadness that comes with parents getting older and not finding the same joy in the holidays as they once did. Like you, I’ve always adored Christmas and was honestly the “ring leader” of holiday cheer in my family long before I had a child of my own.
This year, I decided to ramp up the holiday magic—not for anyone else, but just for me. I spent a quiet afternoon crafting festive paper chain decorations with a Hallmark movie playing in the background. I baked cookies solo whenever the mood struck. I flipped through our basket of holiday children’s books, savoring the memories as I arranged them artfully on the coffee table. And every day, I’ve been treating myself to a delightful cup of afternoon tea—Republic of Tea’s Sip and Be Merry - with my special vanilla sugar.
I also went all out with gifts for my husband and daughter this year—no guilt attached. We don’t make a big deal of birthdays or other gift-giving occasions, so I saved up all year and went all in! After years of focusing on what’s practical, I dropped that filter. Cashmere sweaters, fancy coffee, novelty stuffed animals, a sparkly eyeshadow palette, and even a towel warmer (that I’m 95% sure will eventually annoy me for taking up space)—these were things that I had fun choosing. It felt so good to embrace this moment of maximalism. Come January, I’ll resume a more conscious consumer status, but for this Christmas, it felt absolutely right.
All of this has helped me feel more at ease with the inevitable changes of life—and even excited about what’s to come. Reading your perspective has deepened that feeling, so thank you for sharing your wisdom. I often think of the mantra Kelle Hampton shares: THERE IS MORE. And indeed, there is.
"This year, I decided to ramp up the holiday magic—not for anyone else, but just for me. I spent a quiet afternoon crafting festive paper chain decorations with a Hallmark movie playing in the background. I baked cookies solo whenever the mood struck. I flipped through our basket of holiday children’s books, savoring the memories as I arranged them artfully on the coffee table. And every day, I’ve been treating myself to a delightful cup of afternoon tea—Republic of Tea’s Sip and Be Merry - with my special vanilla sugar."
I adore all of this so much! Thank you for sharing, Melanie!
I love reading this, MaryEllen - I remember that time so well, though through a misty, happy glaze that I think means I am not really remembering ALL of it :) Mom amnesia is a real thing.
Thank you for this glimpse into the season from your place. I'm raising five, but we are in the (much) earlier stage. It's so nice to think about what might be in the future, so that I can live with wisdom now. God bless.
This is the first year I’m lighting Advent candles at home, too. My original intention was to say a little something meaningful about them prior to dinner. Then my family would share insightful tidbits. I envisioned a sweet moment to pause and consider, invite my favorite people into a new Christmas tradition. Last week.. I realized I bought the wrong color candles 🤦🏼♀️ and two of my intended candle holders still hand melted down candles in them. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ My kids started eating their dinner while I scrambled to re-set the table with the candles and my husband finished cooking dinner. I threw out some mumblings about Jesus being our hope, and lit a candle with my kids clearly not understanding. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Cheers to imperfect starts! ☕️ I’m a bit more prepared this week, but all that matters (at this point) is to keep lighting the candles.
PS, I dearly love your writing & perspective. Every time I open a letter from you, it feels like I’m stopping by for tea. Thank you for sharing your words & time with us. 🧡
This comment is all of us trying so earnestly to introduce a meaningful new ritual into our home life and pulling it off in the most awkward way possible.... :) Keep lighting the candles, Joanna (and thank you so much for your kind note!, I'm glad you're here!)
I love this! I have found that Christmas looks a little different each year and I’ve been giving myself the grace to just go with it. Last year the decorations were barely put up due one to all of us being sick basically from Halloween to New Years. This year we slowly started putting up things when we had time. This has made me see what my daughter and husband really cherish about the holidays and what is not missed. What I’ve learned is the Nutcracker collection (I have several) and the tree are the most important and everything else is a bonus if we have the energy. I’m excited to see how the season evolves in coming years!
I don't have kids, but I've had a hard time getting into the festive holiday spirit this year. I've gone to lots of craft fairs, which I love doing, and I've decorated the house, which looks warm and cozy and inviting, but I still wasn't feeling it. And I was pretty bummed about it. But the other day, I put on my Christmas Carols Pandora Station and baked the first batch of Christmas Cookies this year...and it was wonderful. I finally made time for what I love most about the holidays -- baking without the pressure of photographing the food or chronocling the process for my blog. I just baked.... for me. For Christmas. And it's changed everything. ❤️🎄 I'm planning to bake something each day until Christmas to keep that feeling going.
Over the past few years, I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about our holiday rituals and how they may change over the next decade. As I think I said in my comment on your last post, this is the time of year when it hits me hardest that my boys' childhoods are over. My oldest is a freshman in college so this is the first year he's returning home (from a dorm in downtown Milwaukee, just across the bridge from our house, hardly a big trek but it's symbolic) and his Christmas list reflected a young adult looking for practical items to make his life easier. Our family holidays look very similar to a decade ago - subbing the toys under the tree for more adult items and minus the rule they had to wait until 6:00 am before waking us up on Christmas morning - but I know we're existing on borrowed time. How much longer will my 80 y/o parents be able to drive themselves to our house for dinner on Christmas Eve or host us at their home the next day? (And how many more Christmases will they be around?) How many more years before our boys have established lives further away and perhaps partners whose families they'll visit for the holidays? Of the decorating, baking, shopping, etc. tasks I occupy myself with, what will I keep once I'm no longer the one "in charge" of the family's holiday? As with most things, only the passage of time will answer these questions. It's bittersweet.
"Our family holidays look very similar to a decade ago - subbing the toys under the tree for more adult items and minus the rule they had to wait until 6:00 am before waking us up on Christmas morning - but I know we're existing on borrowed time." This is exactly where I am, Beth. In truth, while this year brings a lot of changes, the fundamentals will be the same as always. We'll all be together, and we'll do most of the same things in the same order that we always have. And I know that can't last forever, and also that the kind of life transitions that will change things forever could easily happen in the 12 months between one Christmas and the next...so I won't necessarily KNOW when this one is "the last" one. Big hugs to you!
I love this, in a home where the kids aren’t little anymore and there’s more eye rolling at my Christmas ideas; it’s me that’s that’s feeling the most childlike wonder this year. But I think the pay off of that will be good for the whole family.🤗
So beautifully written, as always, Meagan. As the mom of one 12-year-old (going on 25!) child, I’m feeling so much of what you shared. I’m also navigating the sadness that comes with parents getting older and not finding the same joy in the holidays as they once did. Like you, I’ve always adored Christmas and was honestly the “ring leader” of holiday cheer in my family long before I had a child of my own.
This year, I decided to ramp up the holiday magic—not for anyone else, but just for me. I spent a quiet afternoon crafting festive paper chain decorations with a Hallmark movie playing in the background. I baked cookies solo whenever the mood struck. I flipped through our basket of holiday children’s books, savoring the memories as I arranged them artfully on the coffee table. And every day, I’ve been treating myself to a delightful cup of afternoon tea—Republic of Tea’s Sip and Be Merry - with my special vanilla sugar.
I also went all out with gifts for my husband and daughter this year—no guilt attached. We don’t make a big deal of birthdays or other gift-giving occasions, so I saved up all year and went all in! After years of focusing on what’s practical, I dropped that filter. Cashmere sweaters, fancy coffee, novelty stuffed animals, a sparkly eyeshadow palette, and even a towel warmer (that I’m 95% sure will eventually annoy me for taking up space)—these were things that I had fun choosing. It felt so good to embrace this moment of maximalism. Come January, I’ll resume a more conscious consumer status, but for this Christmas, it felt absolutely right.
All of this has helped me feel more at ease with the inevitable changes of life—and even excited about what’s to come. Reading your perspective has deepened that feeling, so thank you for sharing your wisdom. I often think of the mantra Kelle Hampton shares: THERE IS MORE. And indeed, there is.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Meagan! <3
"This year, I decided to ramp up the holiday magic—not for anyone else, but just for me. I spent a quiet afternoon crafting festive paper chain decorations with a Hallmark movie playing in the background. I baked cookies solo whenever the mood struck. I flipped through our basket of holiday children’s books, savoring the memories as I arranged them artfully on the coffee table. And every day, I’ve been treating myself to a delightful cup of afternoon tea—Republic of Tea’s Sip and Be Merry - with my special vanilla sugar."
I adore all of this so much! Thank you for sharing, Melanie!
I’m deep in the trenches, one and 3 year old and the magic making is real, but so is the want for more space for myself.
Your writing is a welcome glimpse into the future.
I love reading this, MaryEllen - I remember that time so well, though through a misty, happy glaze that I think means I am not really remembering ALL of it :) Mom amnesia is a real thing.
Thank you for this glimpse into the season from your place. I'm raising five, but we are in the (much) earlier stage. It's so nice to think about what might be in the future, so that I can live with wisdom now. God bless.
I love that sentiment, Leah. God bless you!
This is the first year I’m lighting Advent candles at home, too. My original intention was to say a little something meaningful about them prior to dinner. Then my family would share insightful tidbits. I envisioned a sweet moment to pause and consider, invite my favorite people into a new Christmas tradition. Last week.. I realized I bought the wrong color candles 🤦🏼♀️ and two of my intended candle holders still hand melted down candles in them. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ My kids started eating their dinner while I scrambled to re-set the table with the candles and my husband finished cooking dinner. I threw out some mumblings about Jesus being our hope, and lit a candle with my kids clearly not understanding. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Cheers to imperfect starts! ☕️ I’m a bit more prepared this week, but all that matters (at this point) is to keep lighting the candles.
PS, I dearly love your writing & perspective. Every time I open a letter from you, it feels like I’m stopping by for tea. Thank you for sharing your words & time with us. 🧡
This comment is all of us trying so earnestly to introduce a meaningful new ritual into our home life and pulling it off in the most awkward way possible.... :) Keep lighting the candles, Joanna (and thank you so much for your kind note!, I'm glad you're here!)
I love this! I have found that Christmas looks a little different each year and I’ve been giving myself the grace to just go with it. Last year the decorations were barely put up due one to all of us being sick basically from Halloween to New Years. This year we slowly started putting up things when we had time. This has made me see what my daughter and husband really cherish about the holidays and what is not missed. What I’ve learned is the Nutcracker collection (I have several) and the tree are the most important and everything else is a bonus if we have the energy. I’m excited to see how the season evolves in coming years!
I don't have kids, but I've had a hard time getting into the festive holiday spirit this year. I've gone to lots of craft fairs, which I love doing, and I've decorated the house, which looks warm and cozy and inviting, but I still wasn't feeling it. And I was pretty bummed about it. But the other day, I put on my Christmas Carols Pandora Station and baked the first batch of Christmas Cookies this year...and it was wonderful. I finally made time for what I love most about the holidays -- baking without the pressure of photographing the food or chronocling the process for my blog. I just baked.... for me. For Christmas. And it's changed everything. ❤️🎄 I'm planning to bake something each day until Christmas to keep that feeling going.
Over the past few years, I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about our holiday rituals and how they may change over the next decade. As I think I said in my comment on your last post, this is the time of year when it hits me hardest that my boys' childhoods are over. My oldest is a freshman in college so this is the first year he's returning home (from a dorm in downtown Milwaukee, just across the bridge from our house, hardly a big trek but it's symbolic) and his Christmas list reflected a young adult looking for practical items to make his life easier. Our family holidays look very similar to a decade ago - subbing the toys under the tree for more adult items and minus the rule they had to wait until 6:00 am before waking us up on Christmas morning - but I know we're existing on borrowed time. How much longer will my 80 y/o parents be able to drive themselves to our house for dinner on Christmas Eve or host us at their home the next day? (And how many more Christmases will they be around?) How many more years before our boys have established lives further away and perhaps partners whose families they'll visit for the holidays? Of the decorating, baking, shopping, etc. tasks I occupy myself with, what will I keep once I'm no longer the one "in charge" of the family's holiday? As with most things, only the passage of time will answer these questions. It's bittersweet.
"Our family holidays look very similar to a decade ago - subbing the toys under the tree for more adult items and minus the rule they had to wait until 6:00 am before waking us up on Christmas morning - but I know we're existing on borrowed time." This is exactly where I am, Beth. In truth, while this year brings a lot of changes, the fundamentals will be the same as always. We'll all be together, and we'll do most of the same things in the same order that we always have. And I know that can't last forever, and also that the kind of life transitions that will change things forever could easily happen in the 12 months between one Christmas and the next...so I won't necessarily KNOW when this one is "the last" one. Big hugs to you!
I love this, in a home where the kids aren’t little anymore and there’s more eye rolling at my Christmas ideas; it’s me that’s that’s feeling the most childlike wonder this year. But I think the pay off of that will be good for the whole family.🤗
"It's me that's feeling the most childlike wonder this year." I love this so very much!
Such a lovely article!
Thank you, Corissa, for reading and commenting!