So.... this is what I have learnt:
1. Christmas Newsletter - which I love and see as an essential record for my children - gone by the wayside
2. Christmas Cards - which I have never been good at but aspire to - not a one written
3. Adventing Well - which I long to do - kind of disappeared in a flurry of packing and unpacking
4. Baking for the neighbours and friends - pipe dream!
5. Time with my boys - always achievable
The thing is I love the building of Christmas traditions, of things for the boys to look back on and feel nostalgic about but it's not always achievable. You know what? It doesn't matter to them. Time together watching a movie (from the library or our own collection), or playing Cluedo, or getting to the park, or just listening to carols on you tube, or spending time watching them at the beach, these things make it feel special.
I can, in the midst of chaos and mess, still spend time with my boys - I can do so many free things that don't necessarily make me feel like I am creating 'Christmas atmosphere' but are significant for the boys.
I want my boys to become adults and think of December as a time of love and family not stress, unmet expectations and consumerism, and that my friends, can be achieved no matter what state your house is in or whether you are still looking for the camera charger.
Sometimes less is less but it's okay.
Also I have learnt moving sucks and if you can afford it at all having cleaners in to do the really crappy jobs will make me a much nicer wife and mother. - cleaning? not my favourite.
May your Christmas Eve be fun, festive and family-ish. Us? We're having a family over for afternoon tea and playing minute-to-win-it Christmas themed activities - it is the pinnacle of my organisation, I just managed to get it in the day before Christmas actually arrives!
love you more than a Christmas newsletter xxxx
