How I relax and rejuvenate over the break…

Christmas card photo 

Thanksgiving is a family favorite holiday.  Cooking a tasty meal and spending time with loved ones are the only goals. After years of frantically, spending my free time buying and sending gifts, decorating and trying to snap the perfect Christmas card picture, I changed my view of the holiday. Feeling wrapped up in the commercial aspect of the holiday, I decided to make Christmas more like Thanksgiving.  

One year, before digital cameras, I had spent 8 months snapping pictures trying for the elusive Christmas card photo and had nothing to show for it. S0, I went in the other direction and used the given photo.  It summed up the picture taking experience perfectly.  I loved it.  My mom was horrified.

Yesterday, we helped feed 200 families!

I recently, stopped exchanging gifts with my siblings and in-laws and only buy for my immediate family, concentrating on my two teenagers and my parents (and the white elephant exchange at work).  All the free time gained back from this decision is spent with my husband and children.  We bake, cook, watch movies, play games, decorate, work at shelters, plan outings
and simply hangout.  My goal is the soak up every minute possible with them before the day they leave for college.

Christmas parties are about sharing time with friends and family.  I love them!  Most are pot-luck and I’m happy to bake and cook and share in the festivities. Last year I hosted my own theme gathering:  A Very Vadnais Scavenger Hunt.  Attendees formed teams and went out gathering 12 images – Take a picture with a stranger, Take a picture with a Christmas tree (not belonging to anyone in the group) etc…  The pictures were sent to me and displayed as a slideshow later in the evening.

So, to answer the Yule Blog Challenge Question:  How will I relax over the winter break?  I’ll spend the time making memories with my husband and children. Like this one…

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• Yule Blog Challenge Day 1 – Favorites
• Yule Blog Challenge Day 2 – Successes