In Our Home, December is a Sabbath

Hey there, fellow mamas! I wanted to share something heavy on my heart…something that has truly transformed our family’s December experience.

Every Sunday for Sabbath, we focus on rest, fellowship with our people, time in the Word, and shared meals. Here’s what we do: we bring that into our holiday season and treat December like a month-long Sabbath!

Picture this: instead of rushing around trying to cram in every festive activity imaginable, we’ve embraced a slower, more intentional approach to the month. Inspired by the principles of Sabbath (rest, fellowship, and spiritual nourishment) we’ve reshaped our holiday traditions to focus on what truly matters.

Gone are the days of stress and chaos because we only welcome memories here!

So, how do we treat December like a Sabbath in our household? Let me break it down for you:

We just basically mirror what a Sabbath normally looks like:

• not working – focused on resting
• fellowship with your people
• time in the Word
• shared meals 

Here’s what that looks like for our family:

NOT WORKING – FOCUSED ON RESTING: No, we don’t call in to work all month LOL. It means we don’t say yes to much, if anything, outside our family unit this month. We have decided that family time in December is priority and holiday parties or outside activities aren’t for us. Occasionally we made exceptions, but we definitely lean into family heavy this month.

FELLOWSHIP WITH YOUR PEOPLE: our December activities consist of these 4 things…movies, games, crafts, and snacks!

TIME IN THE WORD: I always have an advent study I’m doing and we also have advent for the kids

SHARED MEALS: our meals usually line up with the movie we’re watching, or I try to make a regular supper festive somehow! We love to make the same holiday snacks each year and try one new snack too!

If you search “holiday calendar” on my blog you’ll find a ton of ideas!

For more on this, listen to the podcast “Crafting a Sacred December” I recorded with my friend Lyndi Goodman.

Happy month-long Sabbath! I pray it’s a good one.