What does Christmas mean to you? Now is the perfect time to pause and reflect on what YOU need from your Christmas this year.
Traditionally, my Christmas is all about family. I love being in the heart of the kitchen, cooking lavish, festive meals for 10 to 20 people, then chilling on the sofa on Boxing Day. A big part of my Christmas is spending time with extended family, and it often revolves around the children.
What Christmas means to me
For many of us, Christmas 2020 was very different.
Last year, I spent Christmas alone – and that has made me look closely at what I want this Christmas to look like.
When you live alone, decorating your home for Christmas can feel like an indulgence. When you are busy and time is precious, it’s easy not to bother. However, I have realised that putting up the decorations, just for me, is one of the joys of my Christmas. This year I will be emptying the decorations box and filling my home with every bauble, twinkly light and homemade knickknack I can find! During December, I love to pause for few moments each evening and enjoy all those beautiful lights with a glass of wine and an advent reflection book.
As a Christian, I really want to slow down at Christmas and take time to reflect on the birth of Jesus. It’s easy in all the noise of the festive period for the true meaning to become lost, so this year I will be bringing some space for mindfulness into my Christmas preparations.
A different kind of Christmas
The last two years have been challenging for all of us, and that might mean that we need a different kind of Christmas.
By taking some time to reflect on what you want your Christmas to look like, you can make sure you include those things that will make it special, and meaningful. Ask those who you will be sharing the festive period with, what Christmas means to them too. That way, you can focus on the things that matter, and skip the Christmas clutter that gets in the way.
My 2021 Christmas Dreams
For the first time, I am considering booking a singles Christmas break, just for me. I am dreaming of crisp, linen sheets, mulled wine, beautiful decorations, and delicious food (and no washing up).
I am dreaming of meeting new people, and expanding my horizons. I am dreaming of dancing on Christmas Eve!
And then, I want to come home to a clean, calm and tidy home, with no Christmas chaos to clear away, to enjoy my twinkly lights all to myself.
What have the challenges of a COVID Christmas revealed about what Christmas means to you this year?
Whatever you do, from all at Just Helpers we wish you a peace-filled, mindful and happy Christmas.
