Christmas week tends to be busy, cold, and a little chaotic. Animals still need care right in the middle of all of it. The more we prep ahead, the easier it is to keep everyone fed and watered without being out there freezing twice as long as necessary. Our goal is simple: clean enough, stocked…
The first real winter storm is always a good test of how prepared you are. You find out quickly which gates freeze, which pipes aren’t insulated enough, and which parts of the yard turn into ice rinks. I’d rather figure that out before the weather hits if I can. A quick walk around the property…
Christmas morning with little kids can be sweet or completely chaotic, sometimes both in the same ten minutes. Having a loose routine helps keep things from turning into a sugar-fueled free-for-all where nobody even remembers what they opened. Our routine isn’t fancy, but it gives the day a rhythm that feels fun and calm at…
A Christmas tree that won’t stay upright is stressful. You finally get the lights on, the ornaments just right…and then you hear that crash from the next room. By the third time, you’re ready to drag it to the porch and call it done. You don’t have to live in fear of your tree. A…
At some point I realized we were doing certain Christmas traditions just because “that’s what you’re supposed to do” — not because anyone actually enjoyed them. They took time, money, and energy we didn’t really have, and nobody was sad when they fell apart. Once we gave ourselves permission to let some things go, Christmas…
It’s easy to feel like “special” and “big pile of gifts” go together. Social media doesn’t help. But a huge stack of presents isn’t the only way to make Christmas morning feel memorable for kids. Honestly, it can even make the day feel rushed and chaotic. We’ve shifted our focus to a smaller number of…
Christmas Eve can feel a little chaotic—everyone excited, you trying to wrangle bedtime, a million little things happening at once. A Christmas Eve box keeps us from scrambling at the last minute for “one more fun thing” and gives the night a simple routine. We keep it practical on purpose. It’s not another pile of…
For a long time, real candles felt like “grown-up Christmas” to me. I liked the idea of taper candles on the table, jars glowing on the mantle, and little tea lights tucked into corners. In real life, it turned into wax spills, smoke, and me hovering to make sure nothing caught fire while the kids…