A magazine Christmas is an illusion. We shouldn’t strive to achieve those page worthy images for our family. Instead, let’s find joy…in all the messes and chaos!
Whether you scroll through Pinterest, flip through your favorite magazine or blog, or see holiday ads on TV, perfect versions of Christmas are popping up everywhere during the fall and winter months. I know I can be guilty of portraying that false sense of reality, too.
While they are nice to look at and can serve as inspiration for our own holiday decorating, cooking, and gift giving, there’s a hidden danger in these perfect depictions of Christmas.
The key word here is “perfect”. When we see these styled holiday images, we can start to expect our own family Christmas to have the same look and feel. However, that’s about as realistic as wanting the perfect, airbrushed body that the model has on the latest fitness or fashion magazine.
Striving for a magazine cover Christmas will only lead to disappointment and a feeling of inadequacy.
While we know not to expect the perfect holiday display in a family with young children and pets, we can still subconsciously want it after seeing these perfect holiday visions all around us. Since we can’t always have a perfectly decorated home or a color-coordinated tree with designer ornaments, we end up feeling disappointed when we look kid decorated trees.
When we fall into that trap, we miss out on a lot of what makes Christmas so special. It isn’t about perfection, gourmet food, and color-coordinated ornaments.
It’s about sharing a special time of the year with our loved ones. It’s about sharing memories and making new ones. It’s about baking cookies, giving gifts, hanging lights, and sipping hot chocolate. It’s about being a messy, loud, and happy family enjoying Christmas together.
Don’t let this idea of perfection take the joy of the holidays out of you.
Who cares that there are crumbs in the blanket and one of the lights on your tree is out. What counts is that you’re having a good time with the people you love.
This year, instead of perfection, embrace coziness, happiness, and love. I hope you have a blessed and Merry Christmas!
As a family, several years ago we became so overwhelmed by the commercialism of Christmas – displays compete with Halloween, stores seem to skip Thanksgiving altogether, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Tuesday . . . consume! consume! consume! That we decided to stop! Now it’s about the Presence not the Presents. We have a nice family dinner, watch a movie, play a game, TALK to each other. It is SO refreshing and NO STRESS!! We are about five years in and we love it!!
Robbyn, YES! We have scaled back so much. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
I discovered this year when taking photos of my own Christmas decorations that it is easy to fake those perfect pictures! The decorations look great in the photos but the real life stuff is just out of view of the camera lens. My family has just this last week suffered the loss of of a family member and it is a harsh reminder that we all should let go of the perfectionist tendencies and just enjoy our loved ones. Christmas is about spending time with family. The decorations and the gifts are nice but they aren’t what’s important.
Yes, that’s so true. Joy, I’m so sorry for your loss. I truly hope you are able to have a good Christmas.