So, new thing:

My 7-year-old will be dressed as the Mandalorian on Christmas Day.

Yep. And my teenager will probably be dressed as Elton John.

(not pictured, the totally rad cardboard piano that he made to carry with him.)

Me?  Powder blue tuxedo onesie Pj’s – coffee and Baileys in hand.

We call this, ‘business whimsical’

Why?  Because like most of you, I’ve had more than enough upset this year.

I’m ready for some joy, even if I have to make it myself.

I’m finding catharsis through responding strangely to everyday stuff in order to cope with this monster year.  Adding Halloween to our Christmas is just the right amount of self-inflicted chaos for me to feel some sort of control. 

And, Jack The Pumpkin King would be proud.  🎃🎄💀

(Side perk about the costume thing, my kids are so excited about ‘dressing up’ for Christmas that they aren’t thinking about missing our traditional snow-trip.)

Another spot where I’m shoving joy into is my frustration with our family’s tighter budget this year (relatable much?).  I am not going to let this upset me when I’m figuring out presents for them.

Now, I’m not saying I’m going to just shut my eyes and click add-to-cart, no.

I am going to just pull some tricks from yet another holiday (Easter!) to make less feel like more.

To extend that ‘we-get-to-open-our-presents’ joy in a year when there will be fewer gifts, I’m going to hide smaller gifts all over the house.

They’ll find out about my elaborate scavenger hunt in a letter from Santa that will give them the first clue.

I’m also going to throw in some family cocoa breaks 🙂 ☕️

The other part of the holidays that will look wildly different for us is our Christmas dinner.  Instead of being stressed out while trying to cook alllllll the things, I’m putting my foot down.  I refuse to take on that stress.

Instead, we’re having breakfast for dinner.

And my kids are STOKED about it. Even more than I am about not having to do anything but throw frozen waffles into the toaster and scramble some eggs.

I might even throw in some green dye, because chaos ❤️, to see if they catch the Green Eggs and Ham reference.

If you want to try some of these ideas to lower your own stress level, this children’s-entertainer-turned-mom doesn’t want you to have to brainstorm HOW to put together a scavenger hunt 4 days before Christmas, so I’ve done it for you:

Click here to print both the letter from Santa and the clues!

Party on,

Meadow