Creation Care Mom

Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s how November felt to me. Between the uptick in additional responsibilities with our HOA, the emotional weight of the US election outcomes, and having my parents visiting us for Thanksgiving, I feel like November was the fastest month so far this year!

So welcome to December my friends.

If you’re a Christian, like me, this time of year can feel extra meaningful as we walk through the Advent season, preparing to celebrate the arrival of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. BUT it can also feel just as packed and rushed as anyone else’s holiday season.

As I prepare for my son to turn 2 this month, I’ve been reflecting on the Christmas experience I had growing up. What traditions I want to continue for him, but also which ones aren’t worth keeping.

I grew up in a middle class family, but my grandparents would’ve been considered upper class. They had significant wealth and so there was never a shortage of gifts under the tree. Many years I received everything I wanted and then some. I recognize that is an immense blessing, but also a burden to bear.

I won’t be able to offer that same abundance to my kids. We won’t have all the high tech toys and gadgets under the tree. We won’t be spending all morning opening presents. The nature of our sliver of time in the world is of deepening wealth inequity. We will work hard and still have very little left over for extras as our dollars don’t have the same purchasing power that they used to.

AND Yet, as I wrestle with that grief, I also see this as a gift. A gift to reimagine Christmas for my son and for our family, to pull the focus off of the gifts, off the STUFF.

I’ll be honest. Reimagining Christmas is going to be hard. There’s a tug-o-war inside. But I want Christmas to be meaningful beyond the gifts that get used a handful of times and then shoved in a closet. I want this season to bring us closer to each other and our creator. I want to know that the my experience of the holiday season isn’t damaging our planet even more. I want the dollars spent to have meaning.

I’m not sure what that will all turn out to look like in 5 or 10 years. I don’t know what new traditions will arise out of this effort. I know that for now, I’m still in the thinking and planning phase for the most part. This will be James’s first year of Christmas memories and so we still have time to shape what Christmas will look like for our family.

I’m definitely into normalizing homemade gifts, secondhand gifts, consumable gifts, and gifts of experiences. I am trying to spend local and support small businesses. We’re choosing to let family give James gifts for the holidays and limiting ourselves to only one or two items. I’m really thoughtful about curating his list for things we’d have to buy anyway. I’m choosing things that will last, at least I hope. I’m trying to buy from places who are doing the hard internal work to be gentle on the land, to use less resources.

I’m hopeful to begin filling our Christmas season with more music and more games. More trips to see lights and stand in creative awe. I’m ready for when he wants to help bake cookies and decorate gingerbread houses. Maybe even fun in the snow?! I want to teach him early that the holidays are a great time to serve others, but that we can also do those things all year round!

I guess I want to be intentional. I don’t want to be so caught up in the season that I miss it. That I miss the chance to make memories. To laugh and smile. To get wet and dirty or to be silly and ridiculous. To impact my community. I want to be intentional in how I embody the spirit of Christ throughout the entire month through loving, serving, generosity, and grace.

What about you? What will Christmas look like for you this year? Are you making any changes to your own traditions?