It's Nov 1st, the day the battle begins. Some are dying to celebrate Christmas, but hesitate in fear of those who come swingin' with turkey legs.
I'll admit, I used to be a turkey-leg-swingin' kind of gal. I wanted to preserve Christmas. I wanted it to be special. I wanted to make sure Thanksgiving wasn't overlooked.
Since then my viewpoint has completely changed. I've realized that Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't strangers…they hold hands in delight. They need each other. My greatest thanks each Thanksgiving is what Christmas is all about. My Thanksgiving is for the goodness that we all try to focus on in December. But without proper preparation, commercialization takes over and the true meaning of Christmas (and everything we want to focus on during Thanksgiving) is lost. I have found that when I save all my holiday preparations for the last few weeks of the year, that there are just too many good things to do. Some will have to be left out, or the holiday season will be filled with stress. If you are still skeptical (I don't blame you), let me tell you about last year (when everything changed)
At home with the kids? Instantly access any of these printable activity bundles to keep them learning!
3 Very Good Reasons To Start Preparing for Christmas NOW
Not a fan of Thanksgiving before Christmas? Maybe you will be now
1.) So That You Can Experience True Christmas Magic. The holidays are filled with a lot of details, which can take away from the magic of Christmas. Yesterday I wrote about what we did last year that completely changed the feeling of our Christmas. My planning and preparing started Nov 1st. I got all of the the commercial aspects of Christmas taken care of before Thanksgiving (gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.) so that the moment Thanksgiving arrived, we were completely focused on the holiday cheer, giving, and the reason for the season.
2.) Creating a meaningful Christmas takes time and preparation if you don't want to be stressed. If you read my post on all the fun and creative ways to have a Christ-centered Christmas, you might get really excited. There are SO MANY fun ideas. And the kids love them and they bring a special Christmas spirit into the home. But part of the reason we were able to do so many things is because I prepared them all ahead of time so that we had something to participate in starting the day after Thanksgiving (printables were printed, supplies were purchased, and a plan was made).
3.) Starting TODAY (Nov 1st) there are only EIGHT weekends until Christmas. Once Thanksgiving hits, there are only five. Do you even know how many awesome Christmas movies there are to watch?? 5 weeks is hardly enough time for hanging lights, decorating a home, sipping hot cocoa under the stars, building a gingerbread house, driving around to look at lights, caroling, making holiday cards, wrapping presents, building a snowman, visiting Santa, hanging stockings, trimming the tree, baking cookies, donating food, dancing to Christmas music, volunteering, buying gifts, reading stories, making fudge, and reflecting on the birth (and meaning) of Jesus Christ.
Even if you aren't Christian, there are still too many things to prepare for.
Now……actual holiday decorating is a whole new beast. That is up for debate. My husband seems to think we should wait until after Thanksgiving. Which is why I choose to decorate on Nov 16th. Because it's my birthday and he has a harder time shutting me down on that day 🙂
I'll leave the decorating debate up in the air…
Fun Ways to Celebrate (and Prepare for) the Holiday Season:
If you are getting hoppin' on your preparations, here are some things to get excited about:
- Fun Christmas Traditions Children Remember The Rest of their lives
- Gingerbread Nativities (and the best Icing Recipe)
- Baby Jesus Manger Treats
- Creative Ways to Give Experiences Instead of Things
- 6 Fun Ways to Bring Santa to Life
- Christmas With Kids: Fun Activities, traditions and recipes
- Christmas with Your Spouse: Fun Ideas and Tradtions
- Stocking Stuffers For Your Husband
- Fun Christmas Eve Traditions For Couples
- Baby's First Christmas
- Baby Jesus Manger Treats
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What do you think?