Wait! How can it possibly be just two weeks till Christmas Day??? It seems like I was on the RPod Tour yesterday and now we are sliding into the home stretch and the year will be over. I went to the farm Monday midday to write. I fell asleep to the sound of rain on the tin roof. I couldn’t help it. Not only was it soothing, but it’s my happy place and I’ve been running around like crazy this year. I just enjoy it so much.
I woke up yesterday morning and looked at the weather reports. When I went to sleep it was 61℉ and raining. By morning they were predicting snow in the afternoon. I had limited groceries with me so I decided to pack up and head back to the Ponderosa. When I walked in, I heard the carpet shampooer running in the basement and that can only mean one thing. The basement flooded again. I went down and helped my sweet Mr. FixIt clean up the mess.
Once we got the worst of it done, I sat down to write. I have deadlines to meet every couple of weeks and I had a lot of work to do. Several hours later, I turned off the computer. I’ll finish this morning. Mr. FixIt baked some peanut butter cookies. We watched the news. We read the mail. We got our first Christmas cards yesterday. I haven’t even thought about doing ours yet. I haven’t gone Christmas shopping. I haven’t baked cookies or made special gifts. Nothing.
I used to feel really bad about myself if the holidays weren’t visions straight out of a Hallmark movie. I have SO gotten over that. The house is decorated…enough. Did I get the Christmas Village out on the dining room table? Nope. It’s ok. If my friends and family get a New Year’s letter from us, is it going to be the end of the world? Nope. It’s ok. If the kids get cash cards instead of intricately wrapped gifts, will it make the holidays any less bright? Nope. How about if I buy a store bought cheesecake instead of making fifteen dozen cookies…does it take anything away from our celebrations? No.
Because…all the decorations and the hoopla, the frenzy and the manic late nights aren’t what this holiday season is about anyway. It’s about love. And celebrating Jesus. And gathering the family and holding them close. I started a new Christmas tradition for Mr. FixIt and family when I came into the picture. I make a big pot of chili and homemade cinnamon rolls. It’s low key. We exchange modest gifts. And this year, we’re going to have a White Elephant gift exchange as a fun activity. If you’ve never done that, it’s a lot of fun. Here are the rules:
Each participant supplies one wrapped gift, usually of similar value. The gifts are placed in a central location, and participants determine in which order they will take turns selecting them. The first person opens a wrapped gift, and the turn ends. On subsequent turns, each person has the choice to either unwrap a new present or to steal another’s. When a person’s gift is stolen, that person can either choose another wrapped gift to open or can steal from another player. To avoid never-ending circles, each gift can only be stolen once per turn. The game is over when everyone has a present. Generally, it is recommended to have at least six participants for the gift exchange party. With a larger group, game play may be more protracted.
It’s a KISS Christmas…Keep it Simple, Santa!
❤️
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21 NIV
We do a similar game to the one you’re describing. We do it with just 3 wrapped gifts and a deck of cards….usually supplied by the hostess of the event. The gifts are not expensive; sometimes candy, or a Christmas ornament, or a stuffed animal, that type of thing. The hostess uses 2 decks of cards; one she passes out to each member, the other she uses to “call” out the cards. The person who has the card that matches the card she calls gets to select one of the gifts, either from someone who currently has it or from the table if it hasn’t been selected yet. Then they get passed around and around as the cards are called out …”I’ll take the green one”….”I want the round one”…. etc. Nobody opens them till the very end when the cards are gone. Whoever ends up with them gets them! The very youngest children don’t usually play, but as soon as they’re old enough to recognize cards and to understand the concept, they’re in it too. It’s really really fun!
❤️