Even if you’re typically good at protecting your schedule from overcommitment, the Christmas season tends to fill up. There are just so many good options — parties, service opportunities, children’s programs, gift purchasing and giving, cookie baking, family and church commitments — they pile up. Before you know it, the magic and joy is buried under the stress.
I don’t want to be stressed out during the most wonderful time of the year. I bet you don’t either.
A couple of years ago, I unwittingly started a new tradition. I created an Advent calendar of activities — all the simple joys I wanted to be sure didn’t get overlooked in the busyness of the season. I included drinking hot chocolate, taking a drive and looking at Christmas lights, watching Elf, baking cookies, making ornaments, delivering a gift to a neighbor, calling grandparents to sing Christmas carols, “fancy dinner” (little girls in dresses and water in wine glasses). The last weekend in November, I take a look at our December calendar and match activities with days (our calendar features paper pockets holding each day’s activity. It’s not uncommon to switch activities when plans change).![](http://www.mops.org/images/cms_images/managing-the-magic-of-the-season-1.jpg" /></p>
<p>I’m typically not very good at doing anything for 25 days straight. I’ve never been consistent with a chore chart or behavior calendar. But for the last two years, this calendar has been such a gift to our family. It ensures we build in the time to slow down, look each other in the eye, keep our focus and enjoy the magic of this joyous season. None of us can wait to do it again this year.</p>
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<p><em>Christina Caro’s writing also appears on <a href="http://www.graceformoms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.graceformoms.com</a> and on her blog, <a href="http://www.smarterardor.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.smarterardor.com</a>. She attends a MOPS group in Virginia Beach, where she lives with her husband, Daniel, and their two daughters, ages six and four, and their infant son.</em></p>
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Begin a new family tradition this Christmas with The Donkey in the Living Room picture book and box set by Sarah Raymond Cunningham with illustrations by Michael Foster. Children will learn the true meaning of Christmas through the individual stories of the characters present at Jesus’ birth – the Donkey, Cow, Sheep, Shepherd, Angel, Camel, Wise Men, Joseph, and, of course, baby Jesus – intended to be read each day in the nine days before Christmas.
