A Very Simple Little Christmas This Year

This season has been a little different for me this year so I decided to break with tradition and make things pretty simple for Christmas. If you get overwhelmed with the busyness this joyful time of the year brings, or perhaps life has gone differently for you this year too, here’s your nudge to make things simple and to toss any expectations or pressures that often times come with this time of the year.

If you’ve been following me on social media you probably heard that I lost my sweet boy, Sampson right before Thanksgiving. He was the absolute best boy, loyal companion, travel buddy, and apparently a good listener because I find myself not saying much around the house these days. He also was a good sport around Christmas time when it came to taking pictures.

As someone who lives alone, the absence of a beloved pet makes for a very quiet house. And even more so around the holidays. So while I typically love decorating for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, this year I just didn’t have it in me.

I did make myself put up the icicle lights and wreaths along the front porch because I love how the house lights up at night, especially now that it gets dark so early.

But when it came to the inside, I unintentionally decided to break from tradition. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving I went and bought a Christmas tree, mostly out of habit. I set it up in the normal spot in the corner of the dining room where it’s meant to shine. It sat there for a week with no lights, no star, or ornaments. When I hosted my family for dinner the next weekend I did the minimum. I quickly added the star, two string of lights, and two ornaments that I had recently received.

One was a rainbow a dear neighbor gave me representing the rainbow bridge dogs supposedly cross when they pass. And the other was a footprint of Sampson’s paw I got from the vet when I picked up his remains.

And in that moment I decided the simplicity of the tree was enough. No more ornaments or anything else. Just the two, the star, and the twinkle of the white lights. There is no shame, there is no comparison to what others do, and there is a peace in saying this is all I’ve got this year.

Sampson was pretty much my world and I miss him like crazy. And yet, I know he was indeed a pet, despite me treating him like my child. But my neighbor lost her husband this year so it’s her first Christmas without him. And I have a dear friend struggling with some health problems. Others in my community are still trying to recover from the hurricane and don’t have their homes. Maybe you’re struggling with an illness, job loss, or something else hard in your own life.

I hope that whatever you’re going through that you too find a peace in just doing what you can. Even if it means keeping things really simple this year. Simplicity has a healing way about it.

And even more so, I hope you have the peace that comes in knowing what the real meaning of Christmas is about – celebrating the birth of a savior.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

May you have a very merry, yet simple Christmas this year.