With Christmas just around the corner, you may be wondering what the heck to do about Christmas this year. My suggestion is to make it an intentional Christmas full of cherry-picked traditions that truly bring you and your family joy and happiness. Who knows, maybe some sweet, new traditions will be born out of the process!

SET EXPECTATIONS

If you haven’t already discussed travel arrangements with family, DON’T WAIT ANY LONGER! There is nothing wrong with keeping Christmas close and intimate this year. If you would like to only have your immediate family at the house, it is better to let your friends and extended family know ASAP so that they can plan and prepare for their own Christmas. 

Likewise, let your children know now that Christmas will be a smaller affair this year. Disappointment happens when reality doesn’t match with the expectation. If you’re able to get in front of this and set the expectation of what Christmas will look like this year, there will be a lot less disappointment.

HAVE A POSITIVE MINDSET

2020 has been a doozie! But this is where the most important tool in your toolbox comes into play, mindset. If you think it’s going to be happy and go into it with a positive mindset, you can’t help but have a beautiful Christmas. I know things have been crazy tough this year and we have all been through so much, but now more than ever is the time to be thankful for the good things you have in your life and focus on what’s truly important. Once you open yourself up to choosing happiness, you will be rewarded in the deepest and most satisfying ways. 

DECIDE WHICH TRADITIONS TO KEEP

Make a list of your family traditions and decide which ones are non-negotiable. Keep only the best of the best! Then decide if they can be celebrated in their full form or if they need to be modified to fit the CDC safety guidelines. Be sure that the traditions you decide to keep align with your family’s expectations of what it will take to have a good Christmas. You might be surprised which ones mean the most to them and which ones they choose to opt out of this year. 

ADD SOME EXTRA SPARKLE

What can you do to add some extra sparkle to the traditions you want to keep? Could you do them while wearing matching Christmas pajamas or streaming non-stop Christmas music? Figure out some simple ways to really zero in on making this an intentional Christmas. Try some fun activities that could become new traditions. Divide the family into teams and have a Christmas bake-off. Have a binge puzzle session and see how many puzzles you can put together in a day. Mix and match different spices and candy to create unique hot cocoa flavors. Have you always wanted to build a gingerbread house? Well, Christmas 2020 is THE Christmas to do it!

There’s no doubt that this year has been atypical, but you must do the best with what you have. By setting proper expectations, you can help avoid disappointment. By having a positive mindset, you ensure that you keep the Christmas spirit alive in your heart. And by making the traditions you decide to keep extra-special, you open yourself up to having a rewarding, memorable, and intentional Christmas full of joy and cheer.