Alleta Liebenberg recently relocated to South Africa. Unable to travel during the holidays as is their custom, she offers an alternative to those who find they are stranded for the holidays. Her ideas for creating holiday moments have sparked my thinking and I hope they charge yours too.

Creating Holiday Moments

My Need to Press “Pause”

I don’t know about everywhere else in the world, but it gets pretty crazy south of the equator this time of year.

My “To-Do” lists are maxed out, my calendar is bulging with school concerts, year-end functions, last-minute appointments and my tank is generally running on “Low.”  Unfortunately, those I love the most are often at the receiving end of my “Crazy Mommy” outbursts.

When December rolls in here in South Africa, we begin our summer holidays and we look forward to it all year.  This year though, with an international move behind us and my husband’s new job, we will not be able to go away except for a few short days.

Now, normally I would feel sorry for myself, crawl into a ball and watch reruns of Dance Moms.  But this year I want to try something different. I want to focus on purposefully creating “Holiday Moments.”

I want to get to a place where less really is more—where the “Simple life” is more than just a cliché.

A few ideas I have to enjoy moments together:

Taking the boys to the airport to watch the planes take off

Going to the local botanical gardens for a treasure hunt and a picnic

Buying an ice-cream (Yup, it’s hot in South Africa this time of year) and people-watch

Toy Story movie marathons

I want to try a new activity like rock-climbing (my husband will snort-laugh if he reads this) Spend days at the pool spoiling my nieces and nephews.

And I want to have time to pause at the manger and teach my children about a Jesus who wasn’t born so we could live in luxury, but so we could live.

Even though we won’t have the three-week beach holiday others will, we will build memories. Memories that are built from rubbing up against each other and “doing life” together and being grateful for every moment.

So, if you’re in the same position we are, don’t focus on what you don’t have. Create something new for yourself—New traditions, new memories, new moments.

And I plan to carry this thought with me in 2016, to steal those moments where I can.

Because if you and I wait for a holiday before we can be truly happy, we will miss all the holiday moments  in-between.

 

Reflect:

What is one thing you can do with your family to create a “Holiday Moment?”

Tweetables:

When we can’t take part in our normal way of celebrating and visiting with family. [Click to Tweet]

I want to focus on purposefully creating Holiday Moments. [Click to Tweet]

I am Alleta Liebenberg (pronounced “A-letter”). I am a wife and mother to two cheeky boys.We live in Johannesburg, South Africa and though the boys would love it, we don’t ride around on zebras all day (or ever).We are also recently back from living in the United Kingdom. In my spare time I try to find ways to keep track of whose turn it is on the Ipad. I write about my faith, my family, my mistakes and my healing.  Join me for a good laugh, sometimes a good cry and always a good cup of tea.

You can find out more about Alleta at www.aletterwrites.wordpress.com

 

 

Setting the Christmas table is something I love doing:

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