Keeping Christmas Simple

We didn’t have extravagant Christmases while I was growing up on the ranch in Montana.  There was always lots of work to do and we didn’t live where shopping was easy.  Amazon would have been a life saver!  As I think back on those Christmases now, I remember them as simple, but joyful and sweet.

Our Christmas trees were chosen and cut by a local logger and let’s just say he didn’t always have an eye for perfection.  We had lots of Charlie Brown trees.  I think they were exchanged for cream and butter from our milk cow.  But we always managed to have fun putting the ornaments on and the finishing touch was the real tin icicle tinsel.  My mom always told us girls to put it on a couple of strands at a time, but after about 10 minutes, silver clumps began to emerge as my sisters and I ran out of patience. 

Our gifts didn’t come in giant boxes via UPS.  One year I remember getting a used bike that my dad had repainted in copper and silver.  I think it really was my sister’s, but everything got handed down eventually.  I still remember getting a Flintstones sticker book and thinking it was the best gift ever.  One year my middle sister and I got matching stuffed bears.  Mine was brown and hers was turquoise.  Deep down I coveted that turquoise one, but no one complained about that sort of thing in our household. 

I only had one living Grandma and she came for Christmas and brought each family member a box of homemade candies that she spent hours making every December.  I always ate the English Toffee first and the Divinity last. I don’t remember ever feeling deprived and Christmas managed to feel magical every year.  It was more about a baby in a manger and spending time with family than all the flurry of activity that Christmas seems to have these days. 

I thought a lot about those simpler Christmases in December of 2020.  I was isolated with Covid for ten days and we were being told not to have gatherings and many stores were closed.  I had hours and hours and days and days of time alone and had to give up many of the usual Cone Christmas traditions.  There was disappointment…..and a lot of frenzied online shopping.  But what I came to discover once again was the magic of a simple Christmas.  We didn’t have places to be and parties to attend because all of that was cancelled.  And once again it became all about the baby in the manger and celebrating with just family.  I spent a lot of time writing and reflecting.  There was lots of time to light some candles, turn on Christmas music, and enjoy the lights on the tree while snow was falling outside the windows.  Simple felt nice.  It was peaceful and somehow more meaningful. 

This year seems much more “back to normal” where we live.  We’re not restricted from gathering and shopping has returned even with limited supply chains.  We’ll be getting together with friends here and there and Christmas Day will be a happy chaos of kids and grandkids.  But I think I’ll carve out some time to be peaceful and reflective.  Simple may be the best kind of Christmas after all. 

Last December I wrote this poem and as I reflected on it recently, it reminded me of what was good about our Covid Christmas of 2020.  I hope you all find ways to keep Christmas simpler in 2021.  You might even find it to be the best gift of all. 

Christmas 2020

 Winter’s frozen blanket of white

brings hush to the world’s incessant noise. 

It sends us seeking shelter,

reveling in the quiet and calm.

Lights split the darkness,

warmth perceived from the glow.

Souls long for this solace,

but seldom make space for it. 

December has become frenzy

that bypasses opportunity for reflection.

Global circumstance has halted

the busyness that has become habit.

Choice is to fight the forced deceleration

or embrace the opportunity for rest. 

I choose rest.

 “All is calm.  All is bright.”

Photo credits:  Charlie Brown Christmas - Charles Shultz, Keep Christmas Simple card  - Hallmark