First off I want to start off by saying what a year 2018 has been. I know my Mom and myself kind of dropped off due to several issues: family issues, death, and two my best friends got married and I was a part of both of their special days and I completed my second masters in counseling. I truly missed writing and bringing content to my readers. I am back now and I thought it would be a great idea to share how I am celebrating my Christmas this year.

For those that know me, know that I am super big with traditions. I come from a big family, I am the oldest of eight. For as long as I can remember my family has always gotten together for the holidays. No matter how crazy things got, I could always expect to spend quality time with my loved ones. My favorite holidays were the ones where everyone showed up. I remember my heart being so full and I always took pictures to cherish those memories.

Well not much has changed, I still love the tradition of getting together with the people I care about the most. I live away from my family after moving to back to Texas years ago and I would always get home sick around the holidays. I would express my concern to my close friends that lived here as well and we started to create some new memories here in Dallas.

One of my favorite tradition is my best friend Jeanell’s ugly Christmas sweater party. She host the event Christmas Eve and we get together and fellowship with one another. The tradition has grown so much from us originally just being six of us to over 35 people! My favorite thing about this day is the amount of love and care people display for one another on this evening.

So what do we do?

Well every year we do a secret Santa exchange! We use an app to help us pick our secret Santa’s and exchange our gifts Christmas Eve. Hopefully next year we can incorporate our children in the giving process as well.

We buy all the kiddos gifts or create goody bags for them.

We do a Mexican food potluck, which my daughter has been excited about since Thanksgiving. I know besides the food honestly it is a tradition that she has grown to love and looks forward to. She even wanted her Dad and his family to come, which I thought was really sweet.

This year I decided it is important to incorporate games since the party has grown so much. So we are going to have a few ice breaker games. Jeanell came up with guess the candy in the jar and she is giving out gift cards for the winners (one for the teens and one for the adults). We are also playing Christmas Bingo, Guess who I am (Christmas addition), Christmas Pictionary and a Christmas Drawing contest using paper plates and drawing while the plate is on top of our head. This gives an opportunity to come together even more and enjoy some good laughs in the process.

Finally we have an ugly Christmas sweater competition every year with great prizes! It is really a good time and a tradition I plan to continue as my family grows.

2018 I has definitely opened my eyes to what is the most important in my life and that’s relationships. I know life throws us so many curve balls but the memories we create with the people we love truly never fade. My goal is 2019 is to continue creating a healthy culture centered on all types of relationships. I can’t wait to see where God takes us on this new journey.

Dear Heavenly Father my prayer as we close out his year is to heal any families brokenness, to allow those who are holding grudges or anger for one another to forgive, to bring back the life and joy amongst those who feel like it is gone, to remind us that our life isn’t our own and to show compassion for one another and grace even when it doesn’t feel right, that you continue to lead us and allow us to trust in you solely, and finally that we love one another like you intended in all that we do. In Jesus name I pray amen.

Sincerely, Your Sista on a Sofa

Kendal