Let’s Talk About: Getting Ready for Christmas

I am not trying to freak anybody out, but Christmas is less than two weeks away.  Now how did that happen?!

It is coming fast!  On Sunday, we will finally get our tree up and decorated — because Gaudete Sunday, people.

Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice” and it is the perfect time to raise the tree and decorate the house and to be reminded why we have been trying to sacrifice in the first place.

Advent is a gift to people like you and me — people who live in a world that is always trying to frantically push the next thing we MUST.BE.DOING and NOW!

 It’s a way to slow our thoughts and lives down, when the world is saying, “Go.Go.Go”.  

It is an opportunity to learn the value of waiting, how to wait,  and why we are waiting in the first place.

Ultimately it reminds us “Who” we are waiting for — the only One who could ever truly satisfy all of our longings, all of our greatest hopes and dreams.

All that aside, I have to say that Advent is also an amazing gift for procrastinators like me — those who don’t have their life together enough to decorate their house the day after Thanksgiving.

Really, we procrastinators look far more virtuous than the rest of you guys who are on top of their lives.  

In fact, the more behind you are in decorating the house and putting up the tree — the more impressive a Catholic you really seem to be.  

How great is that?

Okay, I joke a bit — but Advent really does come in handy for the parent who is always trying to keep up with the almost impossible task of keeping all the balls up in the air at once.

In fact, I love pulling out the “Advent card” at this time of year.

The kids ask for a treat at the grocery store.  “Nope.  It’s Advent”.  They ask me to put on a television show first thing in the morning.  “Nope.  Advent.”

Really, even my 6 year old gets it.  She knows that I feel an extra power to just say no to everything during this Season of Advent.  

It’s amazing!

For the rest of the year, I am losing at life — I’m behind on everything, I’m late to everything, and I rarely have it together.

But Advent — I’m winning at Advent — because the expectation is that you slow down and do less.  

Not a problem for me.

If I can be serious for just one moment:  Advent really is an amazing gift.

It’s not actually about procrastinating.  It really is about a time to prepare your hearts for the coming of Christ. 

It’s about clearing away the clutter in your minds and trying desperately to create moments of laser focus on the things that really matter — on the One who should matter most in our lives.

Which is why I am going to suggest that you try to get at least one hour between now and Christmas to spend alone with Jesus.  

Go to an adoration chapel and just sit with God.  Be prepared to tell Him absolutely everything that is on your mind and heart.  Everything.

Make that one hour count.  Give it your full attention and be prepared to leave that chapel more aware of God’s love for you and your love for Him.

And while you’re at it, make the time to go to confession (and get your family there, too!), because believe me your Christmas will be far more peaceful and joy-filled if you take the time to go to confession.

I guess what I am trying to say is don’t neglect the needs of your soul and the souls of the people you love this Advent — that’s what Advent is there for.

Advent is about preparing your heart so that it will be a place that God loves to dwell — because He does dwell in you.

But we are bodies as well as souls — and that means the physical environment is really important, too.  

Advent is also meant to be a time to prepare our physical spaces for the celebration of the Christmas Season. 

Take advantage of this time to clear out the clutter, pull out the good china and add light and decorations in the days leading up to Christmas.

We are preparing our hearts for Christ and our homes so that can they actually make that encounter with Christ more palpable for our family and friends.

For us, Joy Sunday is like the beginning of the crescendo that will last through the 12 days of Christmas and even longer, still.

It is the day that we prepare our home for Christmas and we can really feel the joy approaching on Christmas Day.

This preparation also has to do with wrapping gifts and making sure each child has some thoughtful gifts around the tree.  

I try to have all gifts chosen and wrapped well before the end of Advent.

I’ve learned from past mistakes that staying up until 2am to wrap gifts on Christmas Eve definitely affects my enjoyment of Christmas Day.  

So I’ve learned to avoid rushing in the hopes that I just might leave my kids with a more positive impression of their mother on Christmas.

You can even take it up a notch and aim for heroic virtue by actually praying for each person as you wrap their gifts.  How amazing is that?

I was not heroic as I wrapped gifts this week  — I actually watched a Hallmark movie — but I tip my cap to you amazing parents who actually pray for your kids while you wrap their gifts.

However you approach it, just get those gifts done and the house ready so you can focus on food prep and minimal home preparations on Christmas Eve.

If you work to prepare your house on Joy Sunday and the 3rd week  of Advent, you just might have the added bonus of getting all your swearing done before you get to Confession for Advent — big score!

And we can’t forget about all the food.  Oh the deliciousness of it all!  Don’t forget to prepare for the Feast of Christmas.  Make it a true feast.  Do it up, people!

Finally, make sure you make this Christmas Season a time to reconnect with family and friends. 

The more the merrier.  Even if you prefer to have a quiet Christmas Day, make it a priority to have people over during the Christmas Season.  

Your home is likely the coziest and most welcoming it can be, might as well have people over to enjoy all that hard work and preparation!

At the end of the day, try to remember that your job is to be Christ’s light and love in a world that is desperate for it.

Try to be that in this Season, and then see if that attempt at being light and love doesn’t end up rubbing off on you.

Who knows, maybe it will even end up changing the way you see your place in the world.

The possiblities are endless….let’s try our very best to finish Advent well!

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

St. Francis of Assisi 

Sharing over at Kelly’s