Holiday Recap 2025

I am shocked, SHOCKED [not even remotely surprised] that I went the entire month of December with nary an update nor photo shoot! I had so many well laid plans for content [I had zero plans and even less self-discipline]. I truly can't understand how this happened [stares at self in mirror]. 

In my defense, I did actually sit down one day for over an hour trying to get some feelings down in a post, but it came out as a disjointed mess of thoughts. Perhaps those musings weren't ready to manifest as words just yet.

Although my blog remained an airy absence of content, my IRL holiday season this year was filled with Christmas magic! To start off, I managed to get an extra picture finished from when I was taking my Christmas portrait. Still fumbling around with my camera so I can't say I'm in love with it, but it's been over a month now since I cut my hair, so at least I'm getting some updated pictures.

Featured is my beloved Christmas lantern. It was just a cheap plastic one from Walmart, but I love that little thing so much. We pulled out our family Christmas stockade of supplies to go through and organize for the first time in a decade or so, and I realized that so many of the things that made me happy were just silly little things. A cheap plastic snowflake ornament that holds an extremely sentimental memory for me, the three giant oversize Christmas bulb lights, my special Christmas jammies, my various pop culture stockings. Yes, stockings, plural. And yes, I hung every single one up under the mantle. Santa had the absolute gall to only fill one of them, if you can believe it!

The Spirit of Christmas seemed to flow through me this year in the same way: just small things here and there that were like little winks and warm hugs. Nothing major, nothing that anyone would consider memorable, yet this was one of my happiest and most fulfilling holiday seasons ever. I baked gingerbread bars, made cinnamon fudge, learned several Christmas carols on my harp and strumstick, looked at decorations at every store I could think of, picked out special wrapping paper (pink Dolly Parton print), shared an Advent calendar with mom which, as usual, we did not finish by Christmas Day, and sent out Christmas cards for the first time.

Honestly writing and mailing cards was one of the highlights of Christmas this year. I remember as a child we had a tradition of hanging all of our Christmas cards on the door frame of our den. By Christmas Day the entire door would be covered with cards all the way down to the floor. Some came in the mail, most came from church, some from friends or coworkers of my parents. Over the years though, fewer and fewer cards came. Now as an adult, I find myself reaching out to some of the dwindling traditions of the past and trying to keep some part of them alive. I love my cheap plastic crap so much, don't get me wrong, but as I'm building This New Chapter, I'm really beginning to understand the joy and humanity that a lot of Christmas traditions are vessels for.

One night in early December, I sat down at my desk and got everything ready. I turned out the main lights in the room and had only the bright snowflake lights above the desk on. I put on Christmas music, made some hot tea, got my green pen out, and opened my brand new pack of Pokemon Christmas cards. Perhaps this is more a commentary on my screen usage and lack of social life rather than meaningful introspection, but it felt deeply human to be using an actual writing utensil, on actual paper, writing out the words that I felt. It was simple, and physical, and meaningful. There was an old-fashioned satisfaction of imagining the recipients opening their mail and (hopefully) getting a smile on their face when they read the message of holiday cheer. It felt healing and grounding. I knew as soon I finished the first card that I would be adding this as a yearly tradition.

Another favorite was putting up the tree. I very often wait until a day when my parents aren't home to put the tree up. I enjoy being able to just relax and put it together while I have the house to myself, but I also get a kick out of surprising them with a room full of lights and shiny garland when they get back to the house. This year though, EVERYTHING decided to get into a wrestling match with my beard! The branches on the Christmas tree, the string lights, the garland, the decorations, the wires. I nearly ended up tied to the tree like one giant Christmas ornament! 

Another highlight was Christmas Eve dinner. For several months now, I've been wanting to make one of those big fish fillets that you can buy in the fresh seafood section. I wanted something pretty and impressive to serve on a big platter, and a big ol slab of salmon was just the thing I was looking for. Naively though, I waited until three days before Christmas to buy it so it would be nice and fresh. Turns out, I was not the only one planning on a festive, fishy platter and they were completely sold out. I did manage to track one down at the next store though, I was not going home empty handed! Also, in what may be my greatest mental feat of the year, I forgot my shopping list for the big dinner and had to buy everything from memory. Y'all. Sometimes I don't even remember what I ate for breakfast. By some miracle, I remembered every ingredient I needed. In the end, I managed to manifest a nice little salmon dish, if I may so myself. Although I narrowly avoided disaster because I didn't know that I didn't know how to use a broiler. Lesson learned!

Consciously and intentionally cultivating a spirit of joy and good tidings also made a difference as well. There were many days I woke up and already had thoughts of stress/worry/irritation, and I had to say to myself, "No, we're not doing that today. Today we're going to be a vessel for Christmas happiness." It didn't always stop me from having a tough day, but I could tell a noticeable difference when I firmly set that intention before I even got out of bed. I feel like I was blessed with Christmas joy all month long. Usually by the 25th I'm already losing a lot of holiday energy and I've used up most of my excitement and cheer, but this year I honestly feel like I could've kept celebrating for weeks! And oddly, at the same time I feel ok with packing everything up and getting ready for the next adventure. I think it's similar to how I feel before going to bed. If I haven't been productive or active during the day, I don't want to go to sleep. The day feels unfinished. But on the days when I accomplish a lot and get lots of things done, it's very easy to turn everything off, hop into bed, and dive right into sleep. It's as if the day is satisfied with my work, so now it's letting me rest. This Christmas, it feels like the Spirit of Christmas was satisfied and happy with my work, so now there's a great sense of closure and accomplishment. I'll still be sad to pack everything away, but I'll carry the magic with me throughout the year. I think I'm actually getting excited already for next year's festivities!

I hope everyone reading this had a holiday season full of love and cheer. I still have LOTS of lingering Christmas cheer, so if you need some, just say a quick prayer and I'll ask one of my angels to bring some to you. This has been a roller coaster of a year, and this season of lights, cheer, and celebration was a much needed dose of love and upliftment. I learned a lot this December, made some wonderful new friends, got some really cool presents, and felt blessed in so many ways. As cliche as it sounds, I got the best gift I could've possibly asked for. Here's wishing you and yours a Happy New Year, let's make some great adventures together!