We all love the holidays!! We tend to focus most of our energy on Thanksgiving and Christmas because these are the “family” holidays. We are often rushing around and we miss some of the meaning for the holidays. Blessed are those who remember to concentrate on family instead of things.
We have a tradition for Thanksgiving……after eating dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, we set up the Christmas tree. Well, Kynlee didn’t help much, she mostly played with the decorations – so I decided to play with her!! We found some elf hats. This is the best picture we could get of her because she never stops moving!!
Obviously the lights turned her into a moth because she was drawn to the tree as soon as we plugged it in. SHINY!!
Me, Mom, and Traci
These women! Me, my mom, and my sister. We love to get together and make memories. For as long as I can remember, my family has loved sitting around the table laughing, playing games, drinking coffee, and telling jokes or funny stories. My grandma could never make it to the punchline of the joke because she already knew the funny part. She would get halfway through the joke and crack up into uncontrollable laughter with her head thrown back, hand over her mouth, and tears streaming down her face. She would compose herself and try to finish the joke. Nope. More laughter and tears!! Repeatedly!! Her laughter was so contagious that we laughed with her, without ever knowing what was so funny. I am confident that I only heard the punchline 50% of the time and will have to wait until I meet her in heaven to hear the rest. She would be happy to know that this cycle continues. We still laugh to the point of tears when we get together!
Raibourn Family Thanksgiving
We are lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with family twice. The laughter continues!! We love to play yard games because this is a very competitive family.
Ladderball is a must. The picture does not give any indication of the jumping and yelling and pleading that happens during every ladderball game.
We also have frisbee golf but we are all so bad at it that anytime someone actually lands the frisbee, we all scream and celebrate!! I have absolutely no idea how anyone can actually make it. Honestly.
And it just wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t play with the goats.
Focus on Family
As adults, we tend to focus on all the things surrounding the holidays instead of the main reason for the holidays. It’s hard, I get it – because I have the same issue. I start making a list, trying to remember all the things that have to be done, gathering all the recipes, coordinating dates and times with family, and grocery shopping. We focus on making everything perfect for everyone but we forget that being with family is what makes everything perfect…..not the turkey, not the pie, not the decorations. Family!
Forget Social Media – Enjoy Family
Remember how fun the holidays were when we were kids? That fun never had to change. We had a blast because we were free to play and enjoy our family that we didn’t always get to see during the year. We didn’t have social media back then (thank goodness), so we were not distracted by impressing others. Let’s bring that back!! Try simplifying the holidays. Strip it down to focus on family and don’t fret over making everything perfect. We are now in a world where we think everything has to be perfect so we can get “THE” picture for social media……but it doesn’t have be that way. Share the mess!! Who cares if everyone looks perfect? Who cares if the food doesn’t look picture-worthy? Who cares if every picture isn’t spectacular? Don’t post the scripted pictures…..post your real pictures! Post the craziness because we all want to be surrounded by real people who are just like us – crazy, wild, and fun.
Make Memories, Not Pictures
The most important thing to remember is that the holidays are not about the pictures that you can post, the holidays are for family. Don’t let the allure of posting pics for everyone else supersede spending actual time with your family. We all enjoy your pictures but not enough for you to miss spending time with family! Grab some shots and then focus on family!! Those pictures will be forgotten but the memories will not. Imagine your kids writing their blogs 30 years from now, telling everyone how vivid their memories are as a child – sitting around laughing, eating, playing, and enjoying their family. Memories like that will last wayyyyyyyyy longer than pictures.
