Slow Holidays: Our Christmas Traditions
Jerry KiesewetterWhile it's still almost one month til Christmas, the craziness/silliness/festiveness has well and truly begun. This is the last episode in our Slow Holidays Monday series, and in the spirit of trying to find pockets of slow in these full and exciting weeks, today we talk about the importance of holiday traditions.I'm a big, big advocate for traditions and growing up was always the one adamantly enforcing merriment and light-hunting with my family. And while Ben and I both agree that traditions are really important, especially at this time of year, we do have some, uh, differing views on what is a good tradition and what is not. Either way, we both acknowledge that traditions change and evolve over time, and that there’s no need to stick to something that doesn’t serve us.Ben challenges me about a couple of our holiday traditions (getting a real Christmas tree every year and decorating the house with what he terms “clutter”, much to my dismay) and asks if those traditions still align to our values. I don't necessarily see the same issues that he does, and absolutely love the tradition of hanging out with our kids on the first weekend in December, going to get a tree and listening to The Beach Boys while decorating. I get what he's saying, but to me it's more about the time spent together and the joy in the doing rather than the tree or decorations themselves.This week’s action? Look at what you do at this time of year and the traditions you love, and why you love them. See if there are any traditions that need to evolve and start having those conversations. What small shifts can you start to make to ensure your traditions sit comfortably with your values? And most importantly, don’t forget to embrace the fun and soften into the season!PS Keep listening all the way to the end for some blooper shenanigans.
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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:
- Episode 210 - Slow Holidays: Clutter-Free Gifts
- Episode 212 - Slow Holidays: The Pre-Christmas Catch-Up
- Episode 214 - Slow Holidays: Presence Over Presents
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