Are Your Holiday Traditions Creating Stress or Joy?

Speaker A00:00:27

Ralph, it feels like every Christmas gets busier and more expensive. How can I slow down and bring my family back to simple, meaningful traditions? Great question.Nearly 6 in 10Americans feel the holidays have become too busy and overwhelming. Many say they struggle to find time to rest and connect with family. Hey, this is supposed to be a joyous season.81% of adults say they're more stressed during the holiday season. And 30% listen to this one say their sleep suffers. They get fewer hours and poor quality. Let me tell you right now, we all need to get our sleep.And 46% of Americans say they don't get the alone time they need during the holidays. Even though, listen to this. 56% say such time is important for their mental health. Now this one I'm not sure I agree with.But Abby, my producer found this one and it found that 63% of respondents say that holiday season is more stressful than tax season. Now listen, I'm a tax guy. I'm not sure that that's true, but maybe it is. Which just tells us how overwhelming this time of year can feel.So let me tell you this. The best memories aren't bought. Hear that loud and clear, they're built. True holiday joy comes from connection, not consumption.So on today's show, let's talk about how to build meaningful holiday traditions that won't cost you much. That's we're going to cover on today's show.

Speaker B00:01:45

This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence.

Speaker A00:01:57

Welcome to the show. I'm Ralph. My goal every day is to help you break that cycle of financial shame and do it with confidence.And listen, I've spent decades, I'm talking about decades watching families stress over money. And I've seen the lasting peace that simple traditions bring. I can remember my own family's favorite memories. They didn't come from gifts.They didn't come from anything but those small consistent traditions. And guess what? They weren't big expensive plans either. I'll give you a great example of that.When I was a kid, the big thing every Christmas, I used to look forward to this. It was the best day of the year. We would go to my grandparents house. Now I'm gonna tell you a little bit of a side thing.I was chatting with Abby before we got started today. My grandmother liked to make a Christmas turkey. Let me tell you, she would start cooking this turkey the day before Christmas.By the time it was Christmas dinner, man, you Put the knife in the turkey and it like kind of fell away because. But she loved to do it. But it was really the only day of the year that the family gets together.I had this weird kind of family dynamic where one side didn't talk to the other, but something about the magic of Christmas. Everybody just got along. And to this day, I still remember those days, those times, just sitting there and talking with family.These are family members that I really didn't see any other time of year. Which leads me to family counselor Gary Chapman said this. Traditions are love repeated. I want to say that again because he said repeat.I think it's so key. Traditions are love repeated. So let's ask ourselves today's question. How can I build meaningful holiday traditions?I've got five ways that you can do that. Number one thing, you got to look at this. Traditions are the anchor. They really are.Family routines provide emotional security for both kids and adults. I remember as a kid, everybody knew Christmas Day. You knew where you were going. And as a kid, I knew, here's what we're going to do.I didn't even make it. There was no other thought process. Same thing for the adults. They knew what was going to happen. And you remember those things for a long time.So that's the first thing. Let that tradition anchor the celebration. Second thing, a lot of people drive themselves crazy. It's not a competition. Keep it simple.You don't need to outdo everyone. Just repeat what brings peace. Peace. Don't do those things that cause more pressure. I see moms, I see grandmothers.I see people just absolutely stressed out over the holidays because they're trying to one up somebody else. It's not about that. Keep it simple. Keep it peaceful. That's what you're going to remember. Which leads me to the third thing. Focus on meaning.We're celebrating Christmas for a reason. Maybe for you it's lighting candles. Or maybe here's a great idea. Read Luke, chapter two. It's all about the birth of Jesus.So many people don't even know what that's all about. Or maybe it's a great day to write some gratitude notes. They don't cost you anything. See, it's not about the gifts.The whole point, Listen, the whole point of Christmas I can encapsulate, really simple, is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That's a gift. We will never get a better gift than that. That's the whole point of the season. Number four thing, be consistent.I love consistency, especially as a young kid. A small act Repeated every year after year becomes sacred in memory. That was my sacred thing. Those traditions were consistent. I remember.Here's a sad story. I remember my mom and dad split up. And all of a sudden there was this big question, what are we going to do?And I remember that particular year, my dad sat on the sideline and I remember talking to him that night. And he was crushed because it was such a thing that held the family together.And even though my mom and dad's marriage was falling apart, man, next year he was back there because he needed to be there. It was so important to him. And number five, and again, I probably could have started with this one first. Make sure it's centered on Christ.So many people don't get the reason for the season. A popular saying out there right now is, what's the real reason for the season?But make faith the heartbeat of your family rituals because it grounds the celebration. Be so careful it doesn't come this big gift exchange where everybody's just worrying about what's the gift. Think about this one.Abby found this statistic also. Only 22% of Americans say they could accurately tell the Christmas story from the Bible from memory.And that just crushed me because it showed how many are unclear about the holiday's biblical roots. Focus on that. And I found this Bible verse from the book of Deuteronomy.Don't often quote that on the show, but Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verses 6 to 7. And this is really leaning into that, instilling that tradition in your children. It says this again, Deuteronomy, 6, 6, 7.These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road. What is the Bible telling us there?Impress these traditions on the hearts of your children. Help them to understand the reason for Christmas. Help them to see that it's all about relationships and family.It's not that stupid gift exchange where everybody listen. We started off by talking about people buy gifts that they don't need. There's so many things that people are getting. They don't want those things.They want you. They want to connect with you.How about we pray together, Lord, during this holiday season, we just pray right now that you would help us to slow down and really savor the season. Lord, help me to teach my family to value of time and the value of relationships over that stupid gift exchange.And all those trying to one up everybody and outdo everybody else.Lord, help us to really focus on traditions that reflect our gratitude for what you've given us, Lord, and the faith in Jesus Christ help us to really understand the Bible story and help us to really dwell on the real and true reason. For this season, we ask this in confidence in the name of Jesus. Amen. So here's your action item for today.I want you to start thinking a little brainstorming today. Start one new simple, low cost tradition during the holiday season. Think about it.Think about something that brings peace and something that brings togetherness without spending a dime. This is a great time to celebrate with family during the holidays.But think about those traditions that you could start right now that your grandchildren and people, your grandchildren's grandchildren will someday say. I remember when we used to do that as a family. Those things will matter so much more than the gifts down the road.And if this episode spoke to you, I want to encourage you right now, share it with somebody. Share it with a friend or a family member. You can do it. Simply text them, say, hey, maybe you're feeling overwhelmed by the holiday season.Remember, they don't have to live in that feeling of overwhelm. Send them to the show. Send them this episode if you will. You can share it right in your podcast app or if you're on YouTube, just click on share.Because maybe this love can bring a little piece this year to their show or to their life. And if you thought of somebody while listening to this, maybe you've got somebody in mind.You're thinking, ralph, I know exactly who needs to hear this. That may be God just speaking to you right now. So reach out and connect to them this. Send them to our website.That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com it could be a huge impact on this. You know, so many people are overwhelmed by Christmas. There's a lot of reasons for that.A lot of times it brings up people they've lost and tough times they've been through, man. So let's put our arms around those people and let's really embrace them and help them to find joy in the holidays.Because remember this, the holidays were never meant to drain our wallets and they certainly weren't meant to drain our energy. They were really meant to draw us closer and to celebrate God, to be with one another. So take a breath right now. Choose that connection over chaos.And remember this. The best traditions aren't expensive, but man, they are super meaningful. So thank you for joining me today.I want to encourage you right now, go out there and be a financially confident Christian. Stay financially savvy and embrace the holidays with joy. God bless you, and I'll see you on tomorrow's show.