116: Little Jolt of Joy – Apologies, Updates, & Encouragement

Imperfect Advent, and Letting Go of the Timeline

Let’s talk about letting go of the idea that it’s already too late, that you haven’t done enough, or that Christmas has to unfold on some perfect timeline.

Our imperfect advent tradition

My kids are older now, so I’ve moved away from tiny special trinkets stuffed into advent boxes each day, that particular kind of Pinterest-perfect effort just isn’t sustainable anymore. A few years back I found a magnetic wall-mounted Scrabble board and turned it into our advent calendar. Each box holds a letter tile, and each kid has a tray with their name on the back so they know which letters belong to them. Every day, whoever’s turn it is opens their box, gets a new letter, and tries to build a word with what they’ve collected so far, rotating through everyone equally. No prize, just bragging rights.

Here’s the thing: we have not kept up with it perfectly this year. Boxes weren’t even filled by day one. One kid lives on his own now, one is away at college, so we FaceTime them in when we can, and the timing is rarely tidy. Last night, all four had to do their turn on the same call just to catch us back up. And they’re still having fun with it. When I considered skipping it entirely this year, they asked where the Scrabble game was, which tells me the imperfect, catch-up version is still landing exactly as it should.

A tip for littles: the puzzle advent hack

If you have multiple young kids and worry about equal turns or fairness around advent, try building a 100-piece puzzle ahead of time, out of sight, then breaking it into connected clusters, four pieces per box, starting with the border edges. Each night, every kid gets a puzzle piece and a small piece of candy, simple, equal, and low-stakes. You can rotate in a small extra trinket for just one kid each night, teaching a gentle lesson in patience and turn-taking, since everyone still gets to interact with the advent calendar every single night even if the “special extra” belongs to someone else that day.

The real point underneath all of it

None of this needs to be perfectly executed or perfectly timed to still hold real meaning. Whether it’s an advent calendar running behind schedule, gifts that aren’t wrapped yet, or a to-do list that feels endless this time of year, let go of the pressure that it has to look a certain way or happen on a certain day to count. The season is about joy, imperfect, catch-up-as-you-go joy included.

Until next time, continue to choose joy.