Years back there was a Christmas that was totally overwhelming. After that, while the holiday season was extraordinarily busy, it wasn't overwhelming like the Christmas so many years ago. That disastrous Christmas made me a better planner as I didn't want to arrive at the holidays with so much stress.
This Christmas is a completly different season due to the pandemic. Most of our typical traditions have changed due to pandemic limitations. Fortunately, since I recently retired from teaching, I have had more time to deal with these changes.The holidays, in some ways, have become somewhat of a full time job, and I wonder if that's the way it should be or will be in the future.
I expect to work in a new capacity in the year ahead after COVID-19 passes so I won't be able to make the holidays a full time occupation. So how will I plan for holidays ahead given the silver linings of the pandemic season holidays as well as the traditions I want to keep going forward.
Christmas Tree
I love the bright lights and warmth the Christmas tree brings to the home. Like this year, I think we'll buy the tree early and put up both the fresh tree and our passed-down fake tree early in the season as we did this year in the years ahead. We have a nice number of ornaments and other decorations. The one addition I want to make is buying new beads for the upstairs tree, and possibly creating an origami tree downstairs.
Outdoor decorations
We've yet to do much decorating outside due to the fact that we don't have an outdoor electric plug. In the future, we may or may not change this.
Gifts
Gifts are always a quandry on a tight budget, but as dear friends of ours do, I'll listen to what people like and say throughout the year and try to purchase gifts that match their needs and interests as I learn of that throughout the year. We're not big gift givers--I'd rather use that money to host a family gathering or plan a special vacation with loved ones. So we'll likely keep the gifts at a minimum as we move ahead.
Contribution
We'll likely revisit this part of life once we get beyond the extensive college payments for our children, but for now, we've designated a few areas for contribution.
Festivities
This year we've had to rethink all the festivities to make them more intimate and safe. I hope that next year we'll be able to have a few new and old traditional gatherings with friends and family members.