I have to be honest, it doesn’t feel exactly right to write about holiday decor and other lighter topics yet. My heart still just hurts from the events of Friday, I expect it will for awhile.

I was reminded in church yesterday that Jesus was born into a dark, dark world. The spirit of the holiday is to find Joy in Him despite the darkness, and not let evil overwhelm the celebration of the miracle that is truly Christmas.

We were already attempting a simpler Christmas even before the recent events in Connecticut. We’ll be traveling for the holiday, and this year I already felt that I needed to focus more on our family and less on striving for perfection in the decorations, the food, the perfectly wrapped gifts, etc. I also wanted to take time to enjoy it and be less overwhelmed then I admittedly have been in years prior when I owned a custom Christmas Card business and it was CRAZY at this time of year.  I actually cut things like Christmas cards off my “To-Do” list, I am thinking in this era of Facebook and being a blogger most friends hear enough from me! It’s been easier then I thought to actually do less, and I am finding I am enjoying doing the small things more this season.

I have decorated a few “statement” parts of the house rather then trying for perfection everywhere. The first thing I did was decorate the open shelving in my kitchen, we built them in January so this was my first chance to inflict some holiday spirit on them!

The advantage of having a white kitchen is I can swap out my seasonal decor. The pops of red in honor of this time of year definitely stand out in the otherwise mostly plain white room.

On the lower desk area {which I don’t really use as a desk for whatever reason} I added the hot chocolate fixings per Terry’s inspiration HERE.  The kids had a great time making their “To Go” hot drinks Saturday night before we surprised them with a trek to see the Holiday Light festival at our local oceanfront.

Note: we apparently picked the busiest night of the year and after an hour and a half of waiting in line in our car the kids voted on a Christmas movie at home in favor of returning on a less busy night, Oh well!

So, no fancy holiday mantels or Christmas trees here this year, my kids decorated both spaces and I am just leaving them just as they are {OK, maybe I have tweaked an ornament here or there }. In the meantime, its been just a blessing to be home, be with family and know that the best part of the season is still to come.

We’ll be joining in the Blogger Day of Silence tomorrow in honor of the events at Sandy Hook Elementary.

XO,