I absolutely love Christmas. I’m not at all that person that is annoyed that Hobby Lobby or Target put their Christmas decorations up before Halloween is over. If I didn’t love fall and fall decor {and candy corn} so much, I would have my Christmas stuff up in October too. As much as I love Christmas, I hate how stressful and materialistic the whole holiday season has become.
Some how the magic and meaning of it all is being overshadowed by the busy calendars and spending.
A few years ago, I decided I had enough. My youngest was just a few months old, and I wanted to give her a different Christmas experience. One problem :: Usually, if you fight the hoopla of Christmas, you end up becoming an annoying, stuffy, bah humbug Scrooge. I din’t want that at all. Remember, I love Christmas?
So I decided to take a different approach. Instead of not doing things that some might consider bad or not meaningful or {insert rant here}, I decided to focus on adding in the good. I had a good friend tell me about Advent and how her family started incorporating the celebration of Jesus and serving others into their Christmas. I was hooked immediately.
And you know what surprised me the most? Christmas is still magical. The same way the glow of our tree {which I will shamelessly admit is currently lit in my living room} gives me warm fuzzies, so does the glow of the Advent candles. The same giddy feeling I have for making my list and checking it twice, I have when teaching my kids how to give good gifts to others. There is a new calm to our Christmas season as we reflect more on who Jesus is to us and focus less on what else we need to buy {or want to get}.
Because this has been such a huge thing in our life, I wanted to share the journey with others and help walk them through it. So I founded Sacred Holidays – a ministry dedicated to providing devotionals and fun extras {for the creative and the creative wannabe} for holidays {Christmas, Easter, and many more to come!}. And we just released these two exciting Christmas products last week ::
27 days that will walk you through the Advent Season as you study the people and themes of the Christmas story. Daily readings are short {average 10 minutes} and will help focus you on what matters most this Christmas.
And for those that like to add some sugar and spice and everything nice to their holidays, we also have…
Advent Devotion + Fun Extras for the Creative {and the Creative Wannabe}
This includes the Advent Devotional {see description above} and also – Group Discussion Question, Application Devotions, Christmas Traditions, Photo Challenge, Bucket Lists for adults and kids, Christmas Playlist, Entertaining Tips, Recipes, Decorating Ideas, and Giving Tips.
Today we are giving away A FREE COPY of the Advent Devotional + Fun Extras for the Creative {and Creative Wannabe}!
Winner :: Beth B.
Stay in the loop with Sacred Holidays at www.sacredholidays.com.
Also, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
And for those of you that love a good photo challenge,
join Sacred Holidays for this Advent Photo Challenge too!
love the blog and nice to know there’s a place to come to to feel “normal”!
Thank you for the opportunity to win! I have been looking for new traditions to start with my girls & I want to focus more on doing & giving, not just receiving.
My husband and I just had our first child and we are looking forward to starting our own family traditions with him. Can’t wait!
Family time is the best part of Christmas.
Pick me!
I would love this!