Fall is officially here! Not that I haven’t had my house decorated for fall since late July but it’s really, actually here. Yesterday the high was upper 50s and you best believe we had a fire going in our fireplace. It’s still going. Fall is my favorite season. The beautiful foliage and mild weather make my heart happy but so do the activities that fall brings. Football, pumpkin patch fun, the homey scents, late evenings with friends on the creek bank, deer season, etc. We are a very outdoorsy family. I enjoy hunting and fishing just as much as my husband. We love spending our nights cooking fish on the creek bank over the fire while we share laughs with friends and watch our kids have a blast playing. Brian spends his evenings at the creek several times a week all year round but I’m not a fan of bugs so I only go down there when it’s cold outside. It’s super nice to have a big group of friends with kids our kids ages. The kids outnumber the adults and that cracks us all up but it’s awesome because it’s the best of both worlds. We can have fun with the adults while our kids have fun with each other. I can’t imagine what city people or people who don’t enjoy being outside do for fun. Like, life must be boring for them.
But as quick as fall came it’s about to leave decor wise in the Lane house. We got asked to do the towns holiday home tour which is December 1st and as much as I have to do I’m already starting on it. Yesterday I purchased the rest of the decorations that I’ll need for the inside so I’m starting on that today. Yes, in October! I don’t even care what judgement or shade I’ll receive. I can still enjoy fall festivities while my home looks like the North Pole. My Christmas decor is always up in early November anyways. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an over planner by nature. I’m talking months to years of planning in advance with Christmas shopping being an exception. I do plan what gifts I’ll be buying early but I don’t actually shop for it all early. We not only buy for our kids but also for our 4 parents, 6 sister and brother in laws, 6 nieces and nephews, 3 grand parents, and for our cousins, aunts, and uncles we give them a framed family picture each year. Not to mention the angel tree kids that we adopt each holiday and our precious foster boys. Oh and dirty Santa gifts for the Hudson side and the Noblin side. It’s chaotic so you’d think that I’d over achieve and buy everything early but I don’t. To me buying a few gifts at a time over a period of weeks to months gets way too confusing even being the list making planner that I am. Especially when you’re buying for soooo many people. I buy everything at once pretty much. The only things I buy in advance are personalized gifts that have a lengthy turn around. I do put money back each paycheck all year long just for birthdays and Christmas but when it comes time to actually buy Christmas gifts I literally sit down after bed time one night and spend hours ordering it all online. Usually this is on Black Friday because a lot of stuff is on sale and sites run free shipping deals which is great when you’re buying so much stuff. It’s over fast and I move on with life but even if I did spend a ton of time Christmas shopping who cares? Who cares if you buy gifts months in advance or the day before Christmas? I enjoy shopping for other people. I enjoy it deeply and I don’t believe for a second that buying gifts takes away from the holiday or from time with your family. One of my kids favorite traditions is shopping for our foster boys gifts and angel tree gifts. They love getting things for other kids just like I love getting things for people. You need to re-evaluate life if gifting makes you feel like it takes away from anyone or takes away from the holiday. Giving to others and celebrating Christ’s birth with the ones you love is what Christmas is about! Whether it’s making home made things together and gifting them or gifting your kids an extravagant trip to Disney World. It’s the season for a giving heart and that makes me so happy. I wish that I had the time to cherish each and every moment of purchasing the gifts that we buy but instead I cherish the process of deciding what I get each person. I sit down and write everyone’s names then beside their names I write what I am getting them. I put a lot of love into picking each gift and the kids as well as Brian help me decide so it’s a wonderful family effort. I love it. Now wrapping gifts on the other hand I loath. Ain’t nobody got time for that so this year mama might be bagging it all. That’d be gangster wrapping at it’s finest (I just bought a shirt that says that, Gangster Wrapper, hahaha).
How or when you prep for Christmas doesn’t matter. What matters is that you don’t let the stress of the holiday take away it’s purpose and joy. Enjoy buying and picking the gifts. Enjoy baking and chatting with your family and friends. Enjoy the traditions. Enjoy the weather. Enjoy the decorations. Enjoy the music and the scents. Enjoy it all and remember how blessed you are.
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