ANDRE BEGIN

To say that last year’s Christmas preparations were a washout would be an understatement of epic proportions. My partner and I got COVID in October, then the cat was ill over November requiring regular attention from the vet. By the time we got to December, we were far behind where we would normally be at that time of year.

Even though we succeeded in installing Christmas lights on the house and in clearing the gutters of any leftover fall leaves, the rest of our timeline was a bit of a mess.

As a general rule, we try to space out appointments to keep our schedules flexible and manageable. But with the number of appointments that needed to be postponed over the fall months, we had to accept that the situation couldn’t be helped and that the month of December would be busier than usual.

Between commitments, we found a little breathing space and decided to put up the Christmas tree. Naturally, before decorating it, I plugged it in to check that the lights on the pre-lit tree were working. They were. On with the decorations!

However, two days later, one of the light strands decided to stop working. Given that time was of the essence, rather than going to the trouble of removing the ornaments, pulling out the strand, shopping for an identical one and replacing it, we just decided to rotate the tree by 180° so that the unlit portion was facing the window, and the fully lit portion was facing the room. A permanent fix will have to wait.

During this time, when it came to weather, Mother Nature seemed to have a mind of her own, making errands more challenging for us, forcing us to work around forecasts for freezing rain or snow. With our holiday shopping happening later than usual, in busier stores and parking lots, our energy was depleting quickly.

That being the case, despite the best of intentions and my deep love of the scent of holiday baking permeating through the house in December, time and energy just weren’t there to make it happen.

Then, when the time came to make a decision about our holiday meal, given that our ambition was flat-lining, we decided to try an offering from a local caterer for a fully prepared holiday meal we could simply cook and serve. The idea of no shopping, no prepping, and no worrying about synchronizing the turkey and the multiple side dishes that came with it was too good to resist. As it turned out, everybody enjoyed the meal (as well as the leftovers), which left us food for thought in considering this time and energy saver in the future.

When December was over and we had finally reached the finish line of our busy month, we discussed how the more minimalist approach to the holidays was just fine. We had a few decorations. We had a holiday meal with all the trimmings. We had gifts purchased and wrapped before the big day. Plus, in preparation for winter, we had successfully restocked the pantry and freezer with the essentials.

Instead of putting pressure on ourselves to maintain all of the traditions of the past, we maintained the most important ones while creating new ones, and were able to be in the moment to enjoy quality time with family. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what the spirit of the holidays is all about?

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André