By Ann

Every Christmas I begin the season with good intentions to keep our Christmas simple. Every year I fail. As Thanksgiving approaches, I start hinting to my family that we will be cutting back this year. I promise myself that I won’t make too many cookies, I won’t make the gingerbread house, and I’ll keep spending under control. I start the season making a modest gift list to guide my shopping. Yet, as Christmas nears, my inner Santa Claus starts to panic. I bake and freeze “just one more type” of Christmas cookie, so that no one misses one of his favorites. By December 22nd, I waste an evening struggling to put the gingerbread house together. Our beautiful pile of gifts turns into a mountain of excess. Sigh! Will this year be any different?

Three years ago, I tackled my Christmas cookie problem. My mother is a wonder baker at any time of the year, but she shines at Christmas. She makes dozens and dozens of cookies. Every day during Christmas week, her table holds huge, beautiful trays of treats. When I had my own family, I wanted to do the same for my children. As the years went by, I added more cookies to the “must make” list. This tradition became drudgery, a chore. Two years ago, I asked my family if I could cut down on all the cookies I baked, and every one of them agreed. They want me to enjoy Christmas. My solution was to stop doubling recipes. I let each person choose one favorite. That would mean five kinds of cookies, and when they were gone, they were gone. Yes, we ran out in three days, but guess what? Nanny had tons for us to take home anyway!

Last year I read about an idea taken from the Bible. Set a limit of three gifts per person, to imitate the three gifts brought to the baby Jesus by the wise men. I love this idea. Not only does it set a reasonable limit, but it provides a connection to Christ. I made an honest attempt to hold fast to this rule. I failed last year, and I am going to fail again this year. I can think of so many gifts to get, sales are too tempting, and I just can’t shake the fear that I will disappoint my children. I always had a generous pile of gifts as a child, and I can’t imagine not doing that for my own. I already bought three gifts for some of my children, and I didn’t even look for the “big Santa gift” yet. Maybe next year I will try again.

As for the gingerbread house? Every year that task looms ahead, threatening to turn me into Scrooge. By the time the house is together, I am so frustrated and miserable, no one wants to be anywhere near me. Not one child will even approach when the royal icing is hardening in the piping bag and the candy dots fall all over the floor. There is a reason Hansel and Gretel found a witch living inside one of those houses. They are messy, sticky, easily broken, and not nearly as delicious as they look. Skipping the gingerbread house is one promise to myself that I intend to keep.

Do you overspend and over bake at Christmas? Are you a slave to your traditions, or have you struck that blissful balance between doing it all and letting go? How do you keep Christmas simple?