Four years ago, I sent over 700 Christmas cards.

Dumb.

And the following year? I sent zero.

Mainly because I was recovering from breast cancer surgery and really not feeling great.

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves for having these beautiful, Instagramable gatherings. (Which is true even outside of the holiday season.) This time of year can be hectic. Especially if you're a mom with little ones. And on the other end of the spectrum, especially hard if you are alone. Having lived the life of the former, I'm now deeply aware of the latter. I'm not traveling home to visit my family in California this year, and my kids are working both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I've shared this previously, but there have been many shifts in my relationships over the past few years. Many of the people who I was connected to during the time of life when I was sending 700+ Christmas cards now seem to have a hard time understanding me. Even my own family and I have had recent disconnections that have me craving more space for myself this year.

And that's really the simple message I want to share. That the holidays CAN be a time that is instead, about creating space. Space for you, space for feeling, and space for creating new traditions for yourself and those closest to you.

What would it feel like to redefine what the 'magic of the season' means to you this year?

For me?

I'm getting really inspired by your ideas for "Untraditional Holiday Traditions". I shared a poll on Instagram for this the other week and decided to take the favorites for my next Never Have I Ever game…

Here are a few ways I’m celebrating the magic of the season, alone, this year.

Standing at my window every morning, sipping coffee, while I take a few minutes to just look at the tree decorated outside with the colored lights my son helped me put up.
And speaking of... I'm not turning off the Christmas lights on my house until New Year's, maybe never?! (Yes, I'm that neighbor.)
Instead of traveling, I’ve been using this end-of-year time to focus on my business and planning all our retreat details for 2023. Never have I had everything in place this far in advance and this is making me so excited!
Visiting my daughter while she’s at work on Sunday nights to enjoy dinner at a restaurant I love.
Long walks with Milo and Noodle in the snow.
Creating new traditions with my children.
Perfecting a homemade peppermint mocha.
Finish knitting my Loopy Mango cropped cardigan.
XC skiing Christmas morning.
Going dark on Instagram from Christmas Eve thru New Year's Eve.
Turning up the tunes and doing a holiday deep clean and purge, so I start the new year fresh.
And you better believe I'm burning my Christmas tree in a New Year's Eve bonfire! This year I'm going to also burn all the vision boards I've been holding on to from years past. I'm going to start 2023 super fresh!

Shifting away from an Instagramable holiday is really important. So is not sending a Christmas card if it's more trouble than it's worth. (I will probably never send another one in my life, lol.)