Presence over Presents

Can you believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow…like in a few hours? Are you ready?

When I ask, “Are you ready?” I don’t mean, “Are you done shopping?”  I don’t mean, “Are the gifts under the tree?” I don’t mean, “Have you figured out what you’re cooking?” I also don’t mean, “Is the house ready for guests?” (If it’s not, click here) LOL

Besides the ultimate reason of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is a holiday for family and memories. Every year, I wait until the last minute to put the presents out and under the tree. Between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, I hear the same questions over and over again. “Can we go in your room? Are you hiding anything in there? Have you even started shopping? You must not have gotten us anything, huh?” My answer is normally, “NO! I’m not buying y’all anything this year!  We’re celebrating Jesus!”

Now this isn’t to translate as celebrating Jesus is their punishment for not keeping their rooms tidy or being angels all year. This is to re-shift their focus onto the true reason for the season, Jesus.

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas growing up were not of the things that I got, but more of the things that we did together. It was and still is not about presents, but presence.

I remember talking on the phone to my best friend every Christmas evening, and she’d tell me about all of the cool stuff she got. I would always think it was better than what I got, because it was more. Somehow, it never really bothered me to the point to where I hated Christmas or was jealous of her. Now I get it. It didn’t bother me because I was usually still on a high from celebrating with my mom and sister. We may not have had much materialistically, but my mom always went all out to make sure we had each other. She’d decorate our little apartment with a tree and lights, bake the yummiest of desserts with us, and play Christmas music. Some years we’d load up the car with gifts and luggage and drive to East Texas to celebrate with family. It was everything!

Now that I have my own family, I’m adamant about carrying over some of the same traditions I had with my mom, as well as creating new ones.

A few of my family’s traditions include:

A few years ago, I started making this Ultimate Breakfast Casserole for Christmas morning, and it has been a hit!! This year, I’m adding a few things to the list such as an indoor faux snowball fight (Because TX) and creating a holiday snack board for movie night. A charcuterie board remix is definitely my new favorite jam!

This year has given me so much perspective on what I value most which is family. This will be our first year without my Big Mama, but we will honor her in a special way. We will miss celebrating another holiday with family, but we will still create memories. The kids will donate a few things, and receive a few presents, but ultimately our day will be about family.

I encourage you, especially my blogging sisters, that as you take pictures to post on social media, don’t forget to be in the moment. Call up your family and friends. Set up video conferencing to exchange presents, but most importantly, Be Present.

Merry Christmas!

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