Simplifying Christmas (Episode #84) (Re-Release)
Christmastime is a wonderful and crazy time for our family. Last year we made some large strides to focus on our favorite traditions, and simplifying as much as we could. We still have a long way to go, and are so happy to be learning today from the life of my friend about how to keep the true meaning of Christmas alive in our homes. She is a great example of love, service and becoming more like Jesus Christ.
Meet Andrea Wilkinson.
My friend, Andrea, is a stay at home mother. She met her husband while studying at Brigham Young University. They have one son they adopted as a baby, who is now grown and serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Andrea is from upstate New York originally, has lived all over the country, and currently lives in Texas, USA.
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This episode originally aired on November 13, 2019. We re-released it on December 1, 2020.
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Shownotes:
A few years ago, Andrea and her family decided they needed to simplify their Christmases. They picked a few of their favorite traditions and let the others go by the wayside. Here are some of their favorites:
Watching Christmas Movies
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Kranks, and Elf are a few of their favorites. For more about our family’s Christmas Movie Marathon Tradition, click here!
BBQ Take Out for Christmas Eve
This was born out of desperation when she was making multiple trips to the airport to pick up family one Christmas Eve, and it ended up being such a relief, it stuck. Dinner was ready with out hours of prep and clean up is a snap.
Other Christmas Eve Traditions include reading, The Other Wiseman ,by Henry VanDyke, leaving out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, wearing matching pj’s and just sitting by the tree with nothing but the Christmas lights shining, listening to Christmas music.
Service
Andrea loves the book Christmas Jars, by Jason F. Wright. She and her family like to pattern their giving after this book: saving all year and then giving something big for the holidays.
One of their favorite traditions is to do “Ding Dong Ditch Christmas” where they leave anonymous gifts on doorsteps of those truly wanting over the holidays and watch in the bushes to see their reaction when they open the door. Through out the fall they listen to hear of families that are struggling, or sometimes reach out to a community organization for ideas of who they can help. They write sweet and encouraging messages on the gift boxes to ensure the family feels loved and feels the magic of Christmas. They also donate gift cards to their local church for families in need, and love doing the 12 days of Christmas.
Light the World
This is another service opportunity that is put on by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. The church has these really neat Giving Vending Machines (see video below) in 10 different locations around the world where you can buy simple things like a chicken or a backpack for a family in need, all the way up to items that cost a couple hundred dollars. Light the World also has amazing videos you can watch with your family about serving people around them in small and simple ways, videos on the life of Jesus Christ, and a service calendar to offer more ideas on how to how love. You can also sign up to receive daily texts with service prompts through the month of December.
5. Elf on the Shelf
Andrea also has a great Elf on the Shelf mom fail story she tells us. It’s great.
Our 3 Helpful and Happy Questions Answered by Andrea:
Q. What is your favorite food?
A. All food! But especially Hillary’s Pumpkin Cheesecake (we loved this answer!!)
Q. What is your dream vacation?
A. Visiting London, and I’m going in a few weeks!! (I’m so jealous and happy for her!!)
Q. Do you have a homemaking hack for us?
A. Use cookie scoops (the ice cream scoop kind with the lever) to scoop up your cookie dough. Freeze in individual cookie dough balls on a sheet. Then stick them all in a freezer proof container for up to 3 months. All you have to do is thaw them a bit and they are ready to go! (GENIUS!!) Favorite cookies do this with are peanut butter blossoms. (Try our version of these that use Reeses Peanut Butter Cups instead of Hershey’s Kisses. So good! Reese Peanut Butter Cup Blossoms.)
