Our Simple Family Christmas | Homeschool Mum Life

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! Welcome to our simple family Christmas.

I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a brand new year… with no mistakes in it, yet. (I couldn’t resist that little nod to Anne of Green Gables, one of my all-time favourites.)

Our Simple Family Christmas

We had a truly lovely Christmas this year. It was simple, as always.

In our home, birthdays tend to be the big celebrations, while Christmas is kept fairly low-key and relaxed. The weeks leading up to Christmas were full, with the children involved in various musicals, plays, and performances, so by the time Christmas arrived, we were ready for something slower.

Our Christmas Eve was spent enjoying our usual traditions (I’ll share more on that soon), and Christmas Day and Boxing Day were spent with my mum, always a special time.

Christmas Morning Magic 🎄

Christmas morning began, as it should, with stocking presents and cosy new Christmas onesies.

There’s something so special about those quiet, happy moments in the morning, the kind that don’t need extravagance to feel magical.

A Family of Handmade Gifts

If you know me at all, you’ll know how much I love handmade presents, both giving and receiving them.

It’s become something of a tradition in our family, and this year was no exception.

Each gift was thoughtful, creative, and made with love:

• One child made herbal sachets using herbs he had grown and dried himself
• Another painted a beautiful picture for us
• There were knitted gifts, embroidered pieces, and handcrafted items
• The younger girls gifted homemade soap and tie-dyed snowflake t-shirts

Every gift felt personal and meaningful. We were all absolutely chuffed with what we received.

But then… there was Gary’s gift.

The “Twinkle” in His Eye

On Christmas Eve, Gary walked into the room holding a long, wrapped present, with a very particular twinkle in his eye.

Now, I’ve been married to him long enough to know exactly what that twinkle means. It means he’s very pleased with himself… and very excited.

I asked what it was.

“A present for you,” he said.

And that was all I was getting, aside from the twinkle.

The Gift That Left Me Speechless

The next morning, after stockings were opened, Gary suggested I open one of my main presents.

I chose that one.

He grabbed the camera, eager to capture my reaction.

And as I opened it… I was completely undone.

Tears rolled down my face before I could stop them. I was, quite unusually for me, speechless.

When I looked up at him, the love in his eyes said everything. It was the same look I saw when I walked down the aisle… when each of our children was born… and when he held my hand through my cancer diagnosis.

A look so powerful, so full of love, that it still has the ability to overwhelm me.

Our Simple Family Christmas: The Story Behind the Gift

Before I show you what he made, I want to share the story behind it, because that’s what makes it so meaningful.

After I was diagnosed with melanoma, and just one day after my best friend lost her father to the same illness, we found ourselves deep in conversation, grieving, supporting one another, and trying to make sense of it all.

At one point, she said something that stayed with me:

“If this teaches us anything, it must be to seize the day.”

Carpe Diem.

Those words became incredibly important to both of us. A reminder to make every moment count, even the difficult ones.

A Moment That Stayed With Him

Not long after that conversation, Gary and I were out together when we passed a little furniture shop.

In the window was a sign that read:

Carpe Diem – Seize the Day

It struck something deep within me.

The shop was closed, so we couldn’t go in, but that moment stayed with me.

Apparently… it stayed with Gary too.

What He Did Next 💛

Unbeknownst to me, Gary later went back to try and buy the sign for my birthday, but it had already been sold.

I forgot about it.

He didn’t.

Gary works on a golf course, and one day a large grey poplar tree fell. He cut it into pieces and kept one section for himself.

Then, quietly and without telling me, he began working on something.

Every morning, he woke up between 4:00 and 4:30am to go into work early… just so he could spend time creating this gift.

He shaped the wood.
Sanded it.
Smoothed it.
Polished it until the natural grain came alive.

And then, he carefully carved those words into it:

Carpe Diem

Finally, he painted the lettering by hand.

The Most Meaningful Gift I’ve Ever Received

What he gave me that morning wasn’t just a sign.

It was his time.
His effort.
His care.
and his love.

He had taken something broken, a fallen, diseased tree, and transformed it into something beautiful and meaningful.

And in doing so, he gave me something far more valuable than anything shop-bought ever could be.

A Gentle Reminder for the Year Ahead

As we step into a new year, I find myself holding onto those words once again:

Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

Make the moments count.
Cherish the simple things.
Love deeply.

Because those are the things that truly matter.

Thank you for being here, and for sharing in our little corner of life.

With love,
💛