Christmastime Is Here

I'm always chomping at the bit when it comes to celebrating Christmas. I do celebrate Thanksgiving and I don't mean to rush it. (I've always thought of it as the first day of the Christmas season anyway, prepping our attitudes and hearts for advent.) Still, in my opinion, less than one month isn't enough to fully experience "the most wonderful time of the year!" So, I usually hang back, keep my Christmas excitement to myself, maybe do a bit of shopping here and there, start generating ideas for our annual newsletter, plan gatherings, and start my advent meditations as soon as the thought arises!

But this year is a little different. A mere three days after returning from Thanksgiving with my family, we'll be leaving for New Zealand--where summer is just getting underway and adventure awaits! (I won't pretend my love of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit had nothing to do with choosing this vacation spot. You'll be hearing much about our visits to Hobbiton and Rivendell in the near future. Rest assured.) Since we're spending a good chunk of December far from home, I started getting worried about how this holiday season would pan out.

I have a feeling we'll be too busy taking in all the newness of New Zealand to take enjoy many of our traditional pastimes--carols, cookie baking, Christmas music on the radio, classic holiday films, Christmas parties etc. It makes me a little sad, but the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity seems to outweigh that loss. I think I'll be in travel mode and not stop to think about what I might be missing.

"It's Christmas in New Zealand too, you know!"

Yes, thank you. I'm well aware of that. In fact, I'm giddy at the prospect of being in a different country to see how they celebrate Christmas...as a summer holiday, particularly! I'm excited to meet new people and try our hand at living like kiwis (New Zealanders) for a few weeks--at least, nomadic, campervan-traveling kiwis? *sigh* Fine, like tourists! Regardless, it's going to be a unique experience. And, since winters in WA aren't very magical to begin with, we'll be happy to escape to summer for a little bit. (It's not like we're trading in snow, because that might've been another story. I love snow!)

While we're preparing to pack our warm-weather clothes and planing our trip, I'm also thinking about Christmas. Super Husband has given me permission to decorate the house before we leave for Thanksgiving (I have some cedar boughs from my MIL waiting to be made into a wreath ASAP!). And since my half of the family is out east, we'll be bringing all their Christmas gifts with us too...so I've begun shopping/crafting with gusto! Our Christmas newsletter is drafted, but I'll wait to add snippets of travel stories and maybe a photo or two. We'll keep our event schedule pretty basic this year, but might fit in the Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Nutcracker" after we get back. So overall, we won't be missing that much. I just want to be prepared and later look back on this holiday season without regrets.

I understand (and fully agree with) all the frustrations with "commercialized Christmas," made evident by the way some stores have jumped the gun. I get that not everyone is ready to celebrate just yet. Or that the thought of the holidays brings dread to some people. (Sad, but I know it can be truly tough.) But please, don't roll your eyes at me when you see me getting ready for Christmas early this year--I just want to make sure it's celebrated well, and that I'm preparing in a way that prevents stress and busyness later. After all, it's Jesus' birthday! Jesus come to Earth to rescue us! That's reason enough to celebrate...all the time!

Looking forward to sharing this special time of year with many of you! Give yourself permission to start getting ready for Christmas! It'll be here and gone before you know it. And if you're in my shoes and crossing the date line, you get to "skip" one day and live another day "twice!" (Won't that be bizarre...)