I’m really excited about today’s blog post because it’s something different than my usual outfit posts/product-round-ups. I’m teaming up with Joe Fresh to share one of my holiday traditions. Before delving into the blost post, I want to share a little behind-the-post details that you might find relatable (but really it’s just a nice opportunity for me to pull back the blogger veil for a hot second.)

To be completely honest, I was a little nervous (or uneasy) about this post at first and I’m going to do my best to explain why I felt this way. Okay, so here we go…

The holiday’s are fun and exciting and pretty and all those things. And we all (well most of us) LOVE this time of year – even the chaos of it all excites us. But just like anything that’s been somewhat commercialized, it’s easy to fall victim to comparison or to feel some sort of pressure to “perform” or do things a certain way. The very things that are meant to get us in the holiday spirit or inspire us (e.g., magazines, window displays, blogs, TV shows, etc.) end up just stressing us out. In short, there’s this man-made standard that we feel like we’ve got to measure up to. Right?

In the same vein, the rise of social media (especially instagram and pinterest) only further contributes to this pressure to ‘have it all together’ during this time of year. Maybe it’s just me, but I often fall victim to the (ridiculous) notion that if it’s not picture-worthy or beautifully presented, then it’s not good enough. Or further, I tend to think that everyone else has this organized and beautiful experience and then I’m just over here like… #hotMESS and ‘maybe I’ll get it together like her/them next time/year.’

So why was I nervous/uneasy at the thought of sharing one of my holiday traditions? Simply put, I felt like I didn’t have any. But I think I mainly got caught up in the idea of what a “tradition” really is and instead of thinking of a tradition as a means to an end (e.g., we make gingerbread houses to spend quality time together), I was thinking of it as more of an end in-and-of-itself (e.g., we make perfectly beautiful gingerbread houses every single December 23rd at Auntie Sandra’s house in our matching Christmas PJs and Southern Living featured ours last year – LOL).

In other words, traditions are simply a vehicle for reinforcing the values and beliefs that we hold dear – NOT a picture-perfect-cookie-cutter-esque activity we do for the sake of doing it or taking a photo.

All that being said, I should explain that quote-on-quote “traditions” just weren’t really a big deal in my (immediate) family. Rather than sticking to a ritual or routine each year, we tended to switch things up quite a bit. And although we celebrated in spontaneous and different ways, the important thing is that we spent our time together – whether we were wearing our PJs, ski clothes or party attire.

Back to my point.

Why was I was hesitant to share a tradition? Because I was intimidated. I felt like I didn’t have anything to share or that I would be fibbing a little if I told y’all about a “tradition” that we might have only done a few times. (LOL – as I type this, I’m literally laughing out loud because I realize how silly this sounds. But hey, I’m just being candid here.)

Anyway, I soon realized I was thinking WAY too INSIDE the box. And although I’m sure there are some families that do the SAME special things every single year, that’s not really my story. But I’ve come to realize that this is 100% awesome and okay – and so are rituals and traditions. It’s all serving the same purpose at the end of the day :)

Now for my tradition. Let’s Go!

LEGGINGS: c/o Joe Fresh Fair Isle Lounge Leggings // SWEATER: c/o Joe Fresh Funnel Neck Sweater

One of my favorite “traditions” (that we actually did do a handful of times) was adopt a family. After my siblings and I got a little older (I’m the oldest of 4), my parents decided it would be special (and fun) to adopt a family in need and help them with their Christmas shopping or whatever else they needed.

The memories of this experience are some of my favorite. My siblings and I would get together and spend an entire day shopping for the kids and go to pretty much every major toy store in town. It was a BLAST. Since this experience meant so much to me, I decided early on that this was something I wanted to continue on my own and do with my family someday.

In fact, this is the first year I’m doing it on my own (like, without my family…yay #ADULTing), and so I thought it would be fun to take this opportunity to celebrate and share the experience with y’all! Although I missed having my brother and sisters with me, it was just as special an experience and I hope to continue to do it each year.

SHIRT: c/o Joe Fresh Double Red and black Plaid Shirt // JEANS:c/o Joe Fresh Ultra Slim Jean // SHOES:c/o Joe Fresh Bow Flats

 

What are some of your family traditions?! And did any part of my behind the scenes story resonate with you? Can you relate at all? I would LOVE to hear what’s going through your mind or what you think!

 

Note: I didn’t go through an actual organization this year because I waited too long – I went through my church. However, it looks like you can do something similar through LifeWorks, Soldier’s Angels (military family), St. Vincent de Paul, or Toys of Hope