Hi Hi Hi!!!

I believe it has been almost 2 years since my last blog post. My instagram account became my little blog and so as the story goes….I stopped blogging. However, you can always go back to things you have stopped! Right!? Please say yes mama yes!!!

If you are reading this then you probably follow me on instagram, so I won’t go into introductions here, but I did want to talk about a simple Christmas. Did I say that? Yes, yes I did. This time of year we get slammed with the crazy. So crazy that we loose the whole purpose of this beautiful season. To keep the season as simple as possible, I wrote down a list and thought I would share.

Decorate as simply or as elaborate as you want. It is your time! Do you have or do you want to spend hours putting Christmas decor up? Do you have a theme or color scheme already planned out? Thinking ahead does help with time management on keeping things simple for you.
Say YES to the things you LOVE and NO to the things you are hesitant to. You get it! Just do it!!!
Holiday cards~either you love to do them or they are so challenging you would rather climb a mountain :) Whatever you decide, think of what photo you want to use months ahead if you can. Get them printed as soon as you can and have the addresses on hand. Now I know this will sound crazy to some of you….but have your kiddos help. They can address and put stamps on the envelopes and maybe the stamp will be upside down, but it helps to get them involved. Speaking of getting your family involved….
Your kids can help decorate, put things away and really help you in anyway you will allow them too. I am still learning on the allow part. Its coming folks!
If you plan on doing a party at your home or office, plan ahead. Maybe each member of the party could bring a side dish, have it catered by a local burrito place or do a dessert party bar. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.
GIFTS! We like to limit our gift giving and the past few years we have given the gifts of travel and experience. This year we are not doing any gift giving with 2 sets of family members and it is liberating! I like to look for gifts throughout the year, especially for friends and it makes managing your finances easier as well.
What is this season about for you? Maybe it is showing others giving by helping out at a local shelter, making cookies for your neighbor or spending time every night with your family watching a different Christmas movie.
Remember to take care of YOU. Maybe you swap taking care of someone else’s kiddos so you and your husband can go on that romantic date, you get a massage or buy that expensive coffee you have been craving. I truly believe taking care of yourself through it all is the best thing you can do for YOU!

I kept it nice and simple in my bedroom this year. It feels clean and fresh!

These are just some simple reminders for me as well during this season. I even took some time off yesterday to work on some things that I have been ignoring for a long time, brain free and quite relaxing….. so tis the season to keeping it simple, loving on others, and for me being thankful to a gracious God who gave me the opportunity to live simple.

xo jennifer

ps…I would love to hear your thoughts on how you have been keeping it simple this season!

cheers to a simple CHRISTMAS.... and hello!