My Christmas went SO WONDERFUL. It was our first time hosting Christmas and I really couldn't have asked for things to go better. The day was chill and relaxed, my Christmas dinner turned out great, and I got to watch BabyCakes walk around and play with her presents all day.
I attribute the greatness of the day to me relaxing and letting go of expectations. I have a high propensity to have a lot of anxiety when it comes to hosting at all. Add to that the pressure that comes with making Christmas day perfect and magical and I had a higher than likely chance of being stressed out and disappointed that I didn't do things perfectly.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves during this season. It can be heartbreaking when things don't go as we plan. I've read two blog posts recently from people who didn't have the perfect Christmases they hoped for:
Kate at the Greatest Escapist writes about How She Accidentally Ruined Christmas.
Marquette at Pinstrosity writes about How Christmas Really Went.
Both of these posts touched me because I could see myself in them. I could remember times when I felt similarly. I appreciated how REAL and open they were. Neither post ended on a happy note and that is REAL. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be crushed by unfulfilled expectations. Sometimes we make a small mistake and allow that to consume us to where we feel like we do nothing right. Those are real feelings. I appreciate both of these women for sharing their experiences.
I wish us all the ability to stop being our worst enemy is 2016!