Merry Christmas Eve…

Christmas used to be filled with so many traditions and events when the kids were little.

From decorating for days to planning the advent calendar for daily activities.

From Trail of Lights to Christmas Eve Service.

From a car trip in Jammie’s to look at neighborhood lights with hot cocoa to Christmas Eve Jammies.

From early waking hours on Christmas morning to mountains of wrapping paper.

Christmas looks different these days with older kids and a blended family.

It’s slower and quieter. There are less events, activities, and stress in planning things.

The kids help decorate.

There’s less gift buying and wrapping and more gift cards and stocking stuffers.

There’s some forced family fun and sometimes actual fun.

There’s less tradition and more being present.

There’s planning around the kids’ different work schedules.

There’s quiet and lazy Christmas mornings because the kids are still sleeping.

There’s holding hope and people highly and expectations low and loosely.

There may be a little less magic. But there is a lot more meaning.

Every stage of life brings change. And we pivot and keep moving forward.

What Christmas Eve traditions do you have or hold onto?