For much of my life, I have dreaded the month of January. Why? Because I love Christmastime. I love the beautiful decorations, the traditions, being with family and friends, and the meaningful remembrances. The sadness of missing departed loved ones makes me appreciate the special nature of the season all the more. When grief is present, the story of Jesus gives me hope. Therefore, I love celebrating the miracle of the incarnation.

I’m grateful for the feeling of a fresh start when the world rings in the new year. But after New Year’s Day, all the beautiful decorations come down. The nostalgic songs and stories of yesteryear seem to go back into their vaults, hidden away until next November. A schedule full of get-togethers and gatherings gives way to the monotony of regular work and school rhythms shrouded in cold, cloudy, and often snowy days. To me, January is “always winter, but never Christmas,” as Mr. Tumnus tells Lucy Pevensie as he describes Narnia under the White Witch’s rule (in CS Lewis’s children’s book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).

Last year my wife, Katie, and I began asking ourselves and each other: “What could we do to make January more than just the month after the holidays? Instead of focusing on the sadness of the Christmas season being over, what are the things that we can intentionally do and enjoy this time of year? And how could we cultivate gratitude for these things?”

Welcome to Afteryule

I need to confess something to you: I’m a bit of a “Tolkien nerd.” I love JRR Tolkien’s written works of the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the films and music that have helped bring them to life, and learning the lore in Tolkien’s fictional world of Middle Earth. Did you know that there is actually a Shire calendar? I know what you’re thinking: Chris, you are a next-level nerd. You are correct, but stick with me. The first month of the Hobbit calendar year (that begins after the holiday of Yule) is called Afteryule. When I discovered this, I thought to myself: “That’s perfect. What if January wasn’t just January. What if it became Afteryule… an intentional time for our family after the holidays?”

As Katie and I brainstormed, here are the things we decided that would make this new post-holidays-tradition (we call Afteryule) unique for our family:

Atmosphere

Our family lives in Ohio. If you’ve never experienced winter in Ohio, let me tell you, “Baby, it’s cold outside” … all the time. Therefore, my wife and I have decided that we wanted to create an atmosphere of warmth inside the home during the winter months. Instead of switching from a home full of Christmas decorations to nearly nothing at all, we make it a point to our home decorated with winter-themed decorations. We use our fireplace often. We light sweet-scented candles. We make family-favorite warm beverages all the time. Coffee and tea for my wife and I. Hot chocolate for the kids. We want our space to be a warm space.

Books

My wife loves books. I love stories and writing. Therefore, we encourage our kids in these things. During Afteryule there are regular visits to our local library and discount bookstores. We encourage reading, and we take time as a family to discuss what the books and stories we’re enjoying. If our kids want to write their own stories or poems, and if they want to share their works with the family, we celebrate that. I myself utilize the winter months for my own writing projects.

Creativity

We encourage our kids toward other creative outlets as well. If our kids want to draw or paint, we make sure they have the supplies to do that. If they want to build things (LEGO’s, STEM projects, etc.), we try to have those things too. My wife tries new recipes and experiments with different kinds of baking techniques. My tastebuds are always grateful for her delicious creations.

When everyone is home from work, school, and extracurriculars, we don’t want our family to default to screens, thought I admit it happens more often than we would like. We want our kids to grow in their creativity. The screen time battle is already hard enough for every family, including ours. We’ve found that two things help us with this. The first is to be consistent in our screen time boundaries and expectations. The second is to have alternatives to screens – including creative options that are age and interest appropriate.

Developing Our Love for God & Each Other

I once heard it said that “we are what we love.” We view Afteryule as a time for our family to grow in our affections for God and with each other. The beginning of the year is an opportunity for our family to reaffirm our priority of spiritual practices and conversations at home, as well as faithfully being part of our local church. We tell our children, “these are not just things we do, but part of who we are as a family.” And in these ways we want to help our kids grow in their love for God.

We also want our family to grow in our love for each other. As time allows, we play games, have family movie nights, get outside when we can… our kids love to sled on fresh snow… and we look for opportunities to hang out with friends too.

A New Kind of New Year

This year I’m not dreading January as much. It’s going to be a busy month, but in-between all the coming and goings of the back-to-reality schedule, our home will be intentionally filled with warmth. Instead of defaulting to staring at screens, we’ll each have a stack of good books to pick from. Much coffee will be brewed, and much hot chocolate will be prepared. I look forward to seeing our family’s creativity, playing games together, enjoying movie nights, reading scripture and praying together, and having meaningful conversations. And with gratitude we’ll worship our good Creator who blessed us with it all. 

From our family to yours – Happy Afteryule!

*What are one or two ways you would like to be more intentional this January?