best christmas ever

This Christmas season felt different this year in the Davis house. There were a few reasons for this...I think one of the biggest reasons was that we had fantastic help at color me happy this year. Our friends and staff and helpers were great and able to lend a big hand---taking stress off. I was able to let go of more projects and let others do it...it felt good, my friends.
Another big reason for our Holiday feeling different was that I built an Advent Tree. I found a similar design on Pinterest. I wanted to create something that our family could use every year to have a more intentional Christmas experience. Mom helped me make ornaments out of clay. I then wrote activities for each day on the back of each ornament. The kids checked everyday for what activity we were gonna do. It included fun things like going to see the Muppet Movie and making cookies, and getting yummy peppermint milkshakes. I also included some days that would remind us to think of others and would remind us that the important part of Christmas is slowing down and spending time with the ones we love. We collected jackets and donated them. We bought toys for other kids...we took Daddy out for dinner at his favorite restaurant and even held our first annual "Davis Jingle Jog" around our neighborhood.
Now I'm not gonna lie. We did have a few days out of the 25 that we read the activity and then it fell by the way-side...but really only a few times. I was pretty impressed.
At the beginning I created this tree so that we would be more intentional about the activities we did as a family during this crazy season. Usually I'm pretty bah humbug this time of year. I'm exhausted and stressed and happy that the store is busy but my family gets the yucky side of that...Every once in a while I get a little moody when I'm stressed and tired. Crazy I know.
I really think it worked out well. It kept me on track and focused on the important things. The times that will really stick with my kids...I really feel good about this Advent and Christmas season and I'm excited about this cool tradition that we started.
I must say that I'm gonna miss my tree on the back porch...could it be an Easter tree too??