Five more days.
I won’t even ask if you are ready. Especially because, deep in my heart, I believe Christmas isn’t about having all your gift shopping done, presents wrapped, or even, plans set. For a holiday that celebrates an unplanned birth in a manger, perfection isn’t the point. What I’ll ask instead is:
Are you enjoying this Christmas Season?
Has it felt merry and bright? Has it already given you a new memory or two of being with people you love? Has it reminded you of all you have to be thankful for?—Or that you are loved far more than you realize?
If you can’t answer yes to any of these questions, it is time for you to take a deep breath. Put down your to-do list. Maybe even take a seat in front of your Christmas tree or the one in your town, and stay there until you are able to feel the joy of the season creep back in.
Christmas isn’t a performance. Giving gifts isn’t about getting an “A” from a loved one or your boss. The objective isn’t doing all the things. Rather, the objective is to be present to what is most important to you. To be with the people you love, and to remember the hope of the season. So friend, if you haven’t been able to do this, I invite you to take a moment to slow down and savor the next five days.
Today, I want to share an easy and healthy dessert recipe I love, as well as some hacks Tony and I have learned about getting Christmas presents wrapped, and under some out of state trees. Enjoy!
Love
As I’ve shared before, I am a bit of a sugar addict. It’s been such a struggle for me that for most of the year, I try to keep processed sugar out of my diet as much as possible. But at Christmas, it’s almost impossible. That is why I have tried to come up with some fun alternatives to frosted sugar cookies and the boxes of chocolates that inevitable fill the desert table at parties. Deserts that don’t make me feel like I am missing out, but still don’t make me feel too bad about splurging either.
One of these deserts are these Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Balls by Isabel Eats. They are quick, easy, and definitely delicious. Sometimes, I substitute with cashew butter to make them creamer, but both are equally awesome. Here is the recipe:
Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Balls
3/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup chocolate chips
sea salt for sprinkling
Mix coconut flour and almond butter until they form a paste. Then, scoop and form small balls out of all the mixture. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then stick in the freezer until firm. In a glass bowl, melt chocolate chips in the microwave (I melt in forty-second increments, at fifty percent power, and stir in between each forty-second interval. I repeat this until the chocolate is glossy and fully melted). Once the chocolate is melted, dip the small almond butter balls into the chocolate and place back on the parchment paper. Sprinkle with sea salt, and let set.
Enjoy!
What is one of your Holiday go-to desserts?
Learn
Because Tony and I travel every Christmas, it makes it kind of hard to pack all of our nieces and nephew’s gifts in our suitcases. This has caused us to learn some creative ways to get their gifts under the tree, without having to pack them. Initially this looked like buying all their gifts, wrapping them, and then shipping them to Wisconsin. Over the past few years though, we’ve found two other hacks to make this process that much smoother—and affordable.
We buy their gifts online.
To which you are probably saying, “Welcome to 2018.” But not only do we buy them online—we ship them directly to where we’re going in WI. Then, when we get there, we wrap them in gift bags. Put the gift in the bag with a little tissue paper, put their names on it, and we are good to go. Then, we can spend Christmas with the people we love rather than spending hours measuring, cutting, and taping wrapping paper.
What creative hacks have you come up with to enjoy Christmas all the more?
Lead
“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”
―Andy Rooney
You’re responsible every other day of the year, how can you let loose just a little this Christmas?
Are you in the midst of making a hard decision? Contemplating a big life change? If so, you may be interested in my FREE Making Changes Checklist that I give to all my email friends. Want your free copy? subscribe here.
