Tis The Season for a New Beginning!

Christmas (and indeed, the rest of 2017) is over: We've moved on into a new year. 2017 was a fantastic year for our family. Many good things came throughout the year, including a newfound stability we've not had in the past. The year ended with the best (or at least the biggest) Christmas our family has had together. It was actually the first year that we decorated more than a tree!

The biggest difference in 2017 was actually me, though.

It sounds crazy to say it, and it feels strange when I look back over the previous years. Let me put it to you this way: I was a right Scrooge in the past ten years.

Tis the season for new beginnings!
Tis the Season for New Beginnings!

Now please understand me: I don't believe that money is everything. But when you're struggling to make sure Santa visits your young daughter that year, there can be a lot of pressure. Christmas is one of those family events that everyone wants to get "just right" and I'm no exception. 

From 2012 through 2016, our family experienced devastating financial crises every year during the holidays, to top it all off. 

I don't want to complain. The truth is, our family is blessed. We have one another, and our families and communities are respectful of our lifestyle. We have a roof over our head. There's usually been a car to drive (and when there hasn't been, family has helped us with transportation). When we've needed help, somebody has always been there to help us out.

But it's been hard. I want to put that out there because I want you to understand how important the coming year is to us. This is the year of "will do" not "should do." It's the year we will plan ahead and make the most use of the time leading up to the coming Yule and Christmas.

In fact, we plan to celebrate the Yuletide year round here at Tis the Season.

We'll be putting together an "about us" page within the next couple of weeks. Afterward, you can refer to that to learn more about us. To be clear, you'll read a lot of plural pronouns on this blog because we are a three-adult household and the three of us will collaborate on this blog.

Michelle will be sharing recipes and traditions.
Becki will be sharing crafts, gift guides, (holiday-themed) book reviews, and worldwide traditions.
Leo will be supplementing the blog with ideas for crafts and gifts when he is so inclined.

You may also occasionally find short holiday-themed stories on our blog and links to other blogs, pages, or sites relating to our topic(s).

Along the way you'll also hear about our personal preparations for the season. We'll share our photos (I promise future photos will be original! I got a Canon Rebel for Christmas in 2017!) and talk about what our personal goals for the coming year are. 

We hope that you'll share this exciting journey with us. 2018 is what we're calling "The Year of the Miracle" (you can read some about it on my personal blog), and I can only speak for myself when I say I CAN'T WAIT!

Please note that we are a multi-faith family and that you will therefore see posts pertaining to the pagan Yule/heathen Jul and to Christmas.

We'd love to have you join us in our year-round celebration of the holidays. Please consider liking our page on Facebook and joining our Facebook group. We have also organized a card and ornament exchange and a Secret Santa for 2018. Check them out through the main group!

You can also follow us on Pinterest!

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