Home for the Holidays

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

17 Dec 2008 11:58 AM

I was on the phone with a friend the other day telling her that most of our holiday obligations are pretty much done. Well, this is true and not true. We still haven't done as much decorating as I would like, and there is the stray present or two to purchase, but all of the running around is completed.

We visited with family and had family visit with us from the weeks before Thanksgiving up through this past weekend. We probably saw more of our family in those few weeks than we have all year. For some reason, all of that visiting, holiday events and outings were crunched more or less into that time period, leaving us pretty much free for Christmas.

This is a nice feeling. It isn't that I want to avoid family. In fact, I really enjoyed spending time with everyone. But it is also nice to know that we can somewhat relax and look forward to a fun Christmas week, without having to rush through Christmas morning or really go anywhere at all. We can have a fire in the fireplace and savor the time spent together as an immediate family. Sometimes we rush in and out of our home so often, that there is very little time to enjoy it.

Of course, there are some new invitations trickling in for holiday events, but these I think we will weigh carefully against the prospect of snuggling in and catching up on fun things around the house, such as board games, a walk in our woods, building a model volcano, crafts, chopping some wood, a Christmas movie or two and elaborate meals that take hours to prepare but are so worth it in the end. Sounds ambitious, doesn't it?

See? Even in thoughts of a nice quiet holiday at home I have to plan too much. What are your thoughts?

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now managing relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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