Christmas, We Are Ready!

It goes without saying that this week has been consumed by preparations- preparations for our first Solstice celebration, preparations for four big holiday meals, preparations for the gift exchanges we'll be wrapped up in (ahahaa, ahem), and preparations for the travel and the nights away from home that come with all the festivities.

I could lament the process, but I'm pretty sure everyone is going through the same thing, so I'll just comfort myself with the feeling of standing on common ground...

 

With all the flurry and fuss going on around us, it would be all-too-easy to actually loose track of what's going on around us...

...and that's why we chose to celebrate the Winter Solstice this year. I could really work your ear (or in this instance, your eyes) with details about the 'why' behind Solstice celebrations, but instead, I'll just recommend this book and encourage anyone whose parenting style gravitates toward the Waldorf-esque to look in to the traditions around this time of year that so many of us take for granted, or maybe have even forgotten the origins of...? It really awakens a fresh appreciation for the things we now so immediately associate with Christmas.

After reading and researching for months about Solstice celebrations, we decided that for our family, a celebration to bring us together, connect us to our natural environment, slow us all down at the climax of the seasonal rush, and give us one more day of magic and wonder was the ticket (it's actually a little overwhelming to see the different ways people- past and present- celebrate the Winter Solstice, once you start looking!). For our first Solstice, that meant greenery, a feast, a fire, lots of candlelight, and a few gifts for the babes. It was beautiful, and just what we needed to kick off this merry marathon.

Preparing our Solstice Feast

Our Solstice Bag, made from fabric scraps, holder of Solstice Jammies and- this year- a new book

Oh, the lists, the piles, the packing, the prepping! It took most of the week, but now I can say: Christmas, we are ready!

In order to be truly present in the oncoming holiday whirlwind, 

I will be wishing all a Merry Christmas, 

and will be back in this space again on Monday!

Merry Christmas!