December Daily® 2022 | Story 23
One of the stories I knew I wanted to include this year was a little more about the things we didn't do based on the season of life we are in right now. Some things were the same but many things were different this year and let go of - not out of exhaustion or an attempt to do less this season - but simply because it was a good reflection of us in our own particular season. There was no clinging to the way things have always been but rather a shedding of things in all the best possible ways for our family.
This is one of the big reasons I love this project. I get to see the evolution of our family over time: through the highs + the lows + the chapters in between and through the traditions that last and the ones we let go of for any number of reasons.
It felt like a "just right" Christmas. I'll take that any day.
And if next year all the kids say they want Advent calendars again I'll be totally down with that too.
Here's a look at the process:
Here are some still images of the completed story:
Today's story is built on the back of our Christmas card which was used in Story 22.
I printed a photo of our stockings (5 inches x 7 inches) and used red line tape to adhere it to three sides in order to create a pocket to hold my written story.
On the backside of my journaling is one of the 3x8 journal cards - this is the one that includes the checklist. Looking back over the checklist + seeing the things I didn't check off for this year became the jumping off point for my story.
The red + white ribbon was on a gift from a friend.
Attached to the journaling tag is a collection of embellishments including a Santa from the Die Cut Bundle + a plastic star + a wood star from a past kit + a metal number from Tim Holtz.
On top of the photo I added one of the messy circles from the Main Kit.
I loved looking at this through the lens of the evolution of our family story.
I measured the journal card once I cut off the sides and a bit from the top and bottom and then set that up in Photoshop and wrote my story.
I used a corner rounder to round the edges.
I really love how this one came together + taking the time to write down my feelings from this particular December.
Just beautiful! And here’s to you for appreciating and embracing exactly where you are instead of holding on too tight to the way things used to be. That’s my tendency and I’m working on letting go. Glad you had such a special Christmas!
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Ali- I love this idea! I have adult children so the holiday was a bit different too for me. I was able to create a page talking about that.
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Your comment about traditions REALLY resonated with me. As the boys have grown, we've leaned into the things that are important to ALL of us. Sometimes less is more:)
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