Some of My Favorite Things (December 2024)

I told you I wouldn’t get these going regularly at first. I’m used to blogging without a schedule so I’m still getting used to “organizing” my thoughts well enough to have something worked out at around the same time each month.

The holidays

With December (although sometimes in late November) comes Advent, and Advent/Christmastime/the Christmas season is definitely one of my favorite things, for many reasons.

For the past several years, my husband’s been able to take off every December, and having him around so much is invaluable. He genuinely enjoys spending his free time with us, and while our youngest naps during the day, he often takes our oldest out on adventures around town and teach and show him all kinds of things. (Lately I’ve been using that time to decorate, wrap presents, and nap, because why not.)

It’s like the weekends when we get him all to ourselves as well–but times a LOT because we get him day in and day out for weeks!

When he’s home, he likes cooking lunch and/or dinner, incl. the main dishes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.

We beyond look forward to spending all our time with him during these precious weeks, and they fill up the rest of the year with so much anticipation for the time we get to spend every December.

Another reason why our holiday season is one of my favorite things is all our decorations, making our home so much cheerful, both inside and out. Looking at neighbors’ outdoor decorations and lights in the evenings is also a yearly tradition of ours that we started before we got married.

Our kids make up another big reason why I enjoy the holidays a lot too. It’s true my husband and I had a lot more time to ourselves before they came along, but there isn’t anything like experiencing all the wonderful Christmastime things through a child’s eyes. Their sense of wonder and belief is so beautiful, and it makes starting new traditions and following old ones not only easier, but also more special.

“Mary, Did You Know”

Yes, I mean the song.

I’ve heard some Catholics argue it’s a stupid song because “Of course Mary knew!”

But she wasn’t God. How could she have ever know of all the things her son would ultimately do–including dying for our sins and saving all humankind?

It’s one of my favorite Christmas songs because I don’t think she knew it all, and I’d argue it’s condescending to assume otherwise. It’s also one of my favorite songs because the Virgin Mary is someone I speak to every day, and whose intercession for our kids I ask for often.

Christmas Treats

Baked goods and sweets this time of year taste more decadent and delicious, and we tend to get and make way more in December than we do other months. The best part is there are no regrets as we know it’s not something we do often and we exercise.

Homeschool

If I list homeschool on more than one of these “Favorites” list, I’m not sorry. I had an inkling homeschooling would be fun and peaceful, but I didn’t know just how much our oldest would enjoy it. He looks forward to it so much that he actually ASKS to do homeschool! (Even those times when I’m getting over a cold and tired and just not in the mood… I can’t refuse his endearing request!)

Homeschooling currently doesn’t involve much–which is perfect, as he’s too little for anything formal or academic. We do read-alouds during the day and at night, and then in the 15 or so minutes we sit down for homeschool we’ve been mainly tracing letters, learning and singing new songs, and coloring. Like I said, nothing formal, which is how it ought to be for kids that little.

Favorite podcast(s) this month

Circle With Sarah and Read Aloud Revival: Homeschooling mentor Sarah Mackenzie hosts some of the best and most cherished homeschool-related podcasts out there. The former is part of her quasi-curriculum and membership program Read Aloud Revival Premium that we had the pleasure of joining recently, and form which we’ve gotten so much value already.

The episodes themselves are recordings from live CwS meetings she hosts with us moms, incl. talks from her retreats. “RAR Premium” also includes monthly bookclubs, and a nice curriculum called Christmas School that’s pretty much everything a family that’s serious about a relaxed homeschool would want.

Feel free to check out other podcasts I’ve recommended.

I’m sure there are many more favorites I have in December but currently I have a vivacious toddler on my lap who seems very interested in both my computer and using me as a jungle gym, so I’m signing off and I look forward to reading through your favorite things this month.

One more thing before I go, I actually hate the song “My Favorite Things”: It has nothing to do with Christmas yet somehow gets more playtime at Christmas than it deserves, and aside from the part about kittens’ whiskers because they’re adorable, it’s just dumb.