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If you’re like me, you love the holidays. It’s way more fun now with the kids compared to when you’re just a boring adult. (Ha ha!) Lately, as we get deeper into the holiday season, I’ve been trying to balance decorating with what my perfectionist/plain/matchy self likes and decorating in a fun way with what the kids like. Cue all the fun little Santas, bright holiday colors, rainbow lights, mismatched stockings, homemade ornaments, and more!
I’ll be honest, though. Social media makes it kind of hard. I do some mindless scrolling here and there, especially if I can’t sleep. I’ve been seeing so many accounts showing off their beautifully decorated houses, fireplace mantels, and trees. They have perfectly wrapped gifts under the tree and cute little matching family photos. I’m in awe, my decorating skills are not that good, and they seem like super moms getting all that stuff bought, posed, and done! It all seems so pretty and perfect. Sometimes it makes me feel a little jealous, and the social media comparison sets in. I see those pictures, reels, and videos and wish my home would look more like that. I get all these ideas like I should do this and buy that… But then I remind myself that this is real life and the holidays aren’t about beautiful decorations and perfection, especially when you have kids. The holidays are about fun, family, joy, traditions, and making memories. I have to remind myself that the holidays aren’t about me anymore, they’re about my family. I know they will have so much more fun with all the imperfect and messy holiday crafts, fun decorations, and colorful lights compared to the plain stuff I would pick out, trying to make everything look perfect. Boring! That’s not what the holidays are about. I want my kids to grow up with the best memories and warmest feelings in theirs hearts from the holidays!
I remember loving the twinkly, rainbow lights we had on the house, how I would fall asleep looking out at the sparkly colors. I loved helping to decorate the tree with all of the homemade and special ornaments, being able to reminisce what moment or year it was from. I loved all the little decorations we had around the house and decorating cookies for Santa. I loved having sleepovers with my siblings every Christmas Eve. Our house wasn’t Pinterest-y. Our tree was full of fun ornaments and homemade memories. The cookies were imperfect (I have much respect for my dad, “Santa,” for taking a few sickly sweet bites to make us happy in the morning!).
Those are the things that are important around the holidays. The joy, the fun, the messiness, the craziness, the love, the family traditions, the memories… those are the things children will remember.
So this holiday season I’m reminding myself to not let the comparison get to me. To try to let go of the perfectionism that sets in. To remember to just relax and have fun! We have fun rainbow lights on the house. We have a tree that’s quickly filling with homemade ornaments. We’re sending the grandparents imperfect, messy, and creative holiday crafts from the kids (thank you to all the family members that love and appreciate the homemade projects!). My husband and I will have to do a coin toss to see who gets to be “Santa” this year when it comes to the overly frosted and sprinkled cookies.
It’s a balance! We can still ooh and awe at what we see on our social media feeds. We can gush to family and friends about their beautiful trees and perfectly decorated houses. We can appreciate what others have while still being grateful for our imperfect and memory-filled holidays with our own families. We can still have things we like as perfectionist adults while also remembering to let go and have a fun holiday season with the kids. Make a mess baking cookies, have some fun making homemade ornaments, start some special yearly traditions, decorate the house with mismatched stockings and cut-out paper snowflakes, and make lasting memories with your family…
Those are the things our children- and us– will remember and cherish for the years to come.
Happy holidays from one crazy family to another! Have the best holiday season this year. (:
Lots of love,
Anna
