Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at One Small Child!
We will be out of the office after today, spending time with our families. We hope you are able to be with your loved ones as well! Have a safe, and wonderful holiday!
Today we are rounding up some of our featured moms for Mom Talk Monday: Christmas Traditions. Every family has traditions they look forward to for the whole month of December. But sometimes adding something new can be fun and inspiring.
Katie Lindsay, and her husband set up a fort in their living room with cameo coverings and Christmas lights. Her four boys sleep in it on Christmas Eve while the wait for Santa.
Our own Bethany has a tradition that many families do. Her children receive pajamas on Christmas Eve each year, but they come from a few special someones. Santa’s elves leave the pajamas on the front door step and ding dong ditch so they are not seen.
Jen Haderlie, the new mom of twin girls, loves to go to Starbucks for a cocoa and driving to see the Christmas lights where she lives. After they get home they read the story of Christ’s birth before going to bed.
We hope you take time to make new traditions, while still enjoying the old ones, with your family this holiday.
I hear from a lot of other moms that their husbands have to constantly remind them that they need to “relax”, “do less” and “don’t stress so much”. Do any of us actually do anything to check these items off our never ending to do lists? No. With all of the activities, festivities, driving and cooking to do in the month of December I sometimes wonder if I will make it to January.
De-stressing your holidays might bring thoughts like, “I can’t do that”, “We do that every year” and “so and so will be so disappointed”. But who, besides yourself, said so many things had to be done? Be better to yourself, simplify the to do list. Say “no” to the countless festivities offers. Schedule time with the ones that really matter, and remind yourself that sitting on the couch with a cup of cocoa, a blanket, a movie and watching the snow fall out your window with your honey is a perfect way to spend an evening. Need a few other ideas?
We offer 4 ways to de-stress this Holiday season:
1. Simplify your gift giving with this simple poem: Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. Add a couple of things to their stockings and there you have a simple and meaningful list to fill for your loved ones.
2. It’s okay to buy store made treats to give your neighbors. Just add a simple note wishing them happy holidays. Put a cute ribbon on it and deliver. The only thing they will remember is how nice it was to be thought of.
3. Instead of cooking everything at the family dinner, do a pot luck style. Have everyone sign up to bring what they would like, make sure it makes a meal, and enjoy a little more time catching up with those you love at the counter instead of over the stove.
4. Most importantly, if what you have planned to do and give this year takes away from the time you have with your children, let it go. The time we have with our kids is limited and fading away. Let’s all try to remember to not let it waste away.
There will be some busy days over the holidays, lists to make and you will feel like it is never ending. But there is also great joy this time of year. Remember to cultivate an attitude of joy and your busy days will seem to flow better, your lists will not be so daunting and you will sit and enjoy this wonderful season and feel renewed for the coming year.
Holiday card photos. Everyone has a love/hate relationship with them. You love getting family pictures taken and sending them out to friends and relatives, but putting together cute outfits for everyone that match but don’t look too much alike is a chore in itself. Today we offer a few ideas on how to coordinate holiday photos for the perfect look.
Having a range of colors for your theme spread out on each person pulls it all together. Mixing several prints is good if they have a cohesive look and are not too overpowering. Say, for instance, you wanted to do grey, navy, teal and lime green. If each person had a large amount of lime it would be too much. But if Mom had a lime necklace, Brother had lime shoes, Sister had a lime dress and Dad didn’t have any it would be just fine. As long as Dad has the other colors on that coordinate with everyone else, it will work. Polka dots, strips and even tartan can work together if the colors flow from one person to another.
For Christmas pictures though if you have little ones, having a back drop is always extra fun. Going outside in the snow, drinking cocoa, a Christmas tree, some simple lights, the kids building a snowman and so on can add an element of humor and be more personal than just everyone standing together.
For Ideas on adding pattern, texture and color see this great post for Holiday photos
We hope you have fun putting together memorable photos this season! What are some color combos you have tried?
