Creativity for many of us can look a bit different in December. We maybe focused on making Christmas cards, or gifts, or baking, or decorating, or… for me, many additional music performances. I’m sure you have plenty of added activities and events, too.

Busy holiday times can change our availability, our creative schedule or style, and even our mojo and inspiration. These times may not be as soul-restoring as our usual creativity time—especially if we’re rushing to get things done, and fit them into an already extra busy schedule.

But I find that staying creative, even in different ways, helps keep the stress of holiday busyness at bay. Making gifts, decorating, baking are not my deep level of nourishing, soul-restoring creativity, but they still keep me in the creative zone, and offer reprieve from the other, less quieting, activities.

As much as I love ❤️ CHRISTmas time and all the activities it brings, now that the bustle of the holidays is over, this week between CHRISTmas and the New Year is reserved for slowing back down and catching my breath. I enjoy get back into my soul-restoring creative rhythm, and I invite you to come along with me. I plan to end the year in Peace, and I also have some great projects to share with you in the coming year. I hope you join me! (Sneak peek in next post.)

But first let’s take a look at December’s creativity (since I’ve basically taken the month off here—and some of its things I couldn’t share at the time.)

My first week of December started with music performances/concerts every day, from Christmas Carol sing alongs to formal concerts. With no time for artsy creativity—or decorating. Here are a few of them.

The next day, I jumped into teaching an online art class I’d been preparing for a group of Christian women who are abuse survivors, a Mixed Media & Meditation Faith+Art piece. It is on Jesus coming as the Light of the World, Emmanuel, God with us, stepping into our darkness, both at the time He was incarnated, and into the darkness in our lives now.

I love this make, and our Scripture study that goes with it. It was a great study, reflection, and soul-transforming creativity time for me as I wrote and designed it. And from the feedback I got, I believe it blessed many others also. Would you like this class to be added for you—my creative peeps here? It doesn’t have to be a “Christmas” make. Just a meditative art project reflecting on Jesus.

To take a step back, between Thanksgiving and that concert week, I needed to get some decorations made for the college music tree. I started with a few folded music paper angels. (I’ll post a quick tutorial for these at some point.) But since only one other person added decor for that tree, it looked pretty sparse. So I made some silver music notation ornaments, and then decided it needed a Star on top. I loved the mixed media Star I made so much, I made a bunch more as ornaments for friends. (I will definitely be posting a tutorial for this fun project.)

All along I was working on my big Christmas project that I’d started on a music conference trip just before Thanksgiving. My 28 ornaments for my grands. My Cricut helped immensely for this make, as did using permanent vinyl.

I make very different types of ornaments for my grands each year, (last year was crocheted stars,) with the idea that when they leave their parents’ homes, they will have the beginnings of meaningful, personalized decorations for their own.

Finally, I did my home decorating, just in time for my own students’ mini recitals here. I don’t do a tree. But I do decorate with my Nativity collection. I have over 50 Nativities that I’ve bought or made, (at least) one a year since I was 16. In addition, others have added to my collection. I say I’m going to stop adding—but then I see and get something unique—and then others gift me another. This year, not only did I add another, but also was gifted 4 others! My collection has grown too large to put them all out every year—and this isn’t all that I put out this year, but here’s a sampling.

Of course, those students coming for Recital all needed Christmas cards, so more making commenced.

After college break started and those Recitals were done, I had a week left to settle into “regular” Christmas activities. A very small amount of baking and candy making, driving around looking at Christmas lights, designing (photo) Christmas cards (no time left for handmade), wrapping and sending gifts, rearranging all my furniture and digging out all the dishes needed for my 20-some guests on Christmas Eve.

It’s been a busy month, but there’s none of it I would change. I love it all. I also love times of Rest. Times of Refreshing. Time for Reflecting. Time to Recharge. That is this week for me.

Although I love creating online content, I don’t think “too busy for much public online activity” is a negative thing. (There’s my disclaimer for irregular posts and videos.) 😊 That attitude will never make me an influencer or top content creator. But for me, sharing our lives with my online peeps is the important part of online presence. I cherish the individual and small group time together though far apart. I really love living face-to-face life big and bold, even though I’m a huge introvert. I love that I’ve been able to meet online friends in-person, and share great adventures—and quiet late night talks together.

I’d love to have you all over for tea and relaxing creative time, visiting about the sunshine and the storms in life. (You should see how personal my in-person art classes get. And that’s not even my Life Restoration Coaching!) 🤗 Laughing together. Crying together. Praying together. But since we all can’t, I invite you into my online space, irregular as that public presence is. I invite you to connect more personally. I invite you to walk alongside—to journey together, as we follow closely to Jesus.

Christmas Day begins my quiet week of Reflection, after the busyness of the previous month. Today we’ve looked back, in tomorrow’s post (Lord willing) we look forward. Plans for Peace, Joy, and Creativity in 2026!

I pray you had a Merry Christmas as you celebrated Jesus, God with us, the Reason for the season. And that you have a Blessed New Year!

#freelywhole #freelywholecreative #creatingforchristmas #soultransformingcreativity #beautyfromashes

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Living Coram Deo & freely whole
SDG!
~ Liberty—Life Restoration & Soul Transforming Creativity Coach

Empowering you to live a life that is Freely Whole—spirit, soul, and body—in Jesus! 

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