-

From Christmas Chaos to Christmas Calm 

Ooh, I wish I had a fireplace. I hope you have been enjoying Autumn breezes and colors, if you are in the northern hemisphere, and are ready to begin planning for the most wonderful time of the year EARLY this time. Don’t you just love this picture? I want my house to be this festive, snugly warm, peaceful, and beautiful…that’s why I wish I had a fireplace! At least I’ve got the cat, the hardwood floors, and the sunset.

This is the week to begin in earnest! Your goal: Have Christmas presents bought and wrapped before Thanksgiving. Why? So that you can enjoy the entire month of December and just have fun!

This year is the first year I don’t have any ideas for anyone, although I do have a few gifts bought that I saw earlier in the year. So the next three weeks will be key to having a stress-free and fun December. When my husband mentioned he’d like to take our now 16 yo son to Disneyland before he gets out on his own, I decided to give JR an extra week off school (we’ll go a week longer in June); this way I can begin making the Christmas shopping rounds two weeks earlier than I have in the past.

I have detailed what I do in 6 “Christmas Calm” posts on my main website ThriveOnOneIncome.com, because I’ve got it down to a science : )

If you need inspiration or a plan to follow, please consider reading the six posts in the Category section Christmas Calm, or just click on this link, It's that Most Wonderful Time Again! post, it will have all 6 articles embedded inside. I’ve even updated them for you!


Three of our family’s Christmas favorites are now on YT:

A Family Circus Christmas (1979)

From the beloved newspaper cartoon series, three cartoon movies were created for Christmas, St. Valentine's Day, and Easter.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983)

The above movie would also make a great Christmas gift for anyone – I just showed it for the first time to a woman in her late 50’s and she loved it! The Best Christmas Pageant Ever DVD. If you have a young child, be sure to read them the book, FIRST! It will make them love the movie even more. In fact, all three books in the Herdman’s series are fantastic, and would make great Christmas presents for those in elementary school: The Best School Year Ever (can anyone find anything good to say about a Herdman?), and The Best Halloween Ever. It’s heartwarming to see such “bad” kids make good decisions.

The Little Lamb 1955

I especially love the opening of the above video “The Little Lamb” because it shows a mother praying with her five children and telling them this bedtime story. Then it plays the six minute movie. It is a touching story from the shepherds’ point of view. I found it on a VHS when my son was small and have watched it every year since. I’m so glad it’s on YT now!

If you go to the post It's that Most Wonderful Time Again! it will have all 3 videos embedded inside.

May God bless you as you keep your Christmas focus on Christ, and your Christmas season will be merry and bright!

Janine


Comments

  1. Blessed HomemakingFebruary 19, 2023 at 7:39 AM

    Hi Janine! I didn't realize you had this blog! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my blog--I am behind on getting to comments. We are planning a wedding here! I hope you are well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Honest Review of The Clutter Connection

-
Image
Last year I read a very interesting book by Cassandra Aarssen called The Clutter Connection, How Your Personality Type Determines Why You Organize the Way You Do. The first time I took her test was on her website, Clutterbug.me , I came out as a “Butterfly.”  But when I read her mini online book detailing the four different organizing styles that are based on your personality, I thought I was a Bee who coveted being a Cricket!  (See her website for a quick explanation of the four Clutter Bugs.) I bought this book since it goes into depth on the four areas, with color pictures, and I wanted to know more.  I was skeptical of her test and felt that the questions weren’t clear enough, so I took the test several times on different days, and again after reading each of the four sections of her book. I felt that on many of the questions I could answer “Yes” to 3 out of the 4 scenarios.  So one time I did this on all the questions, and then added up m...
Read more

From Christmas Chaos to Christmas CALM

-
Image
Priscilla Poynter I spent many, many years unorganized. After reading countless books and decluttering, I just had my best Christmas ever, even though I was ill Dec. 21 & 22.  I had NO STRESS.  Everything was on schedule! Let me share with you the four steps I took to move from Christmas Chaos to Christmas Calm : 1)  Write up, then type up, your Christmas Countdown .   This is what MY list looks like: Christmas Countdown January Buy Christmas cards for next year (I do actual Christmas cards, not photo cards).   Go to post office and buy Christmas stamps (I did this today, and saved myself the postage increase happening Jan. 21, 2018)  Shop online for after-Christmas sales - Christmas themed items for next Christmas (it can be gifts, partyware, decor, wrapping paper, etc.) Place large empty box or Christmas bag into closet for gifts bought throughout the year, with post-it note for who it is for, or you will fo...
Read more

Laine of Laine's Letters has passed into Glory

-
Image
Our dear sister Laine Amavizca, who wrote Laine's Letters back in the 1990s and early 2000s, passed away November 5, 2024, after a long illness. Laine was a godly encouragement to homemakers in the days before blogs became popular.  She e-mailed her letters to a group of women, and more and more wanted to be added to her e-mail list. I personally found her in 2006 after she wrote the article, "Why I Love Homemaking," which was published in the Above Rubies magazine , a free magazine written by mothers to mothers. (Nancy Campbell, Editress) Whenever I woke up in the very early morning, such as at 4 a.m., I would always think, "Laine is up reading her Bible and conversing with God right now." In her letter Holy Habits , she says, "He speaks to me through His Word, and I speak to Him in prayer." (At the end of this post I have an excerpt from, and a link to, the full letter.)   Where Laine's Letters can be found Eventually, with her permission, s...
Read more