Check Myself Before I Wreck Myself

We had planned on going to Sloan's Christmas Tree farm to get our tree this year as we have done for the last 3 years but a long week prior to the weekend made us second guess the day trip and we opted to stay in Sarnia to get our tree. My inner Clark Griswold so badly wanted to push us to the limit and create the "perfect family Christmas tree memories" but I listened to my husband and my gut and we stayed home.

I suggested we go to DeGroots Nurseries because I have heard good things about their trees. When we got to Degroot's, we were happy to see they were hosting the Bluewater Health Winter Wonderland Family Fun Day. There were lots of activities for the kids including a train ride,  music and even a few of Santa's reindeer. We even ended up running into our friends while we were there so Luke got to enjoy the festivities with some of his little buddies.

When it came time to pick a Christmas tree we went for a pre wrapped tree for simplicity sake. When we brought it home and unwrapped it I started to feel a little sad that we didn't go all out for our Christmas tree day. The tree wasn't fluffing out the way I had hoped it would and I was just feeling a little lost. Its so silly that an "imperfect" tree was deflating my Christmas spirit but it was.

Luke went down for a nap and I sat on the couch alone for a minute in quiet and I checked myself hard. "Heather, get it together, Christmas is not about the tree or any other fluff that comes with the holidays, you are lucky to have a tree at all."

I really do my best to keep the birth of Christ at the centre of my Christmas festivities but it can be challenging. I love everything about Christmas but just as fast as all the glitter and gold can get me excited, it can let me down even quicker.

I find when I spend time focusing on the amazing gift of Jesus's birth, I don't get let down by unattainable holiday expectations or the January blues. I want to enjoy all my Christmas traditions like the tree, movies, baking, wrapping and gift giving all the while knowing that these things are second to the true meaning of Christmas.

How do you keep grounded while enjoying all the festivities of the holidays?

xoxo
Audrey