EP 201 How to Have a Holiday That Matters!
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In this episode of The Pretty and Punk Podcast, hosts Ildiko Ferenczi and Dan Caldwell explore what Christmas should truly be about. They discuss the importance of focusing on connection, family, and faith, and reflect on how the holiday season is an opportunity to strengthen bonds, embrace gratitude, and create lasting memories. Instead of getting caught up in materialism, they encourage listeners to prioritize meaningful traditions like decorating the tree, baking together, or giving back as a family.
The conversation also touches on simplifying gift-giving with the “Three or Four Gift Rule,” which helps avoid excess while fostering gratitude. Ildiko and Dan share ways to set boundaries with extended family and reframe the holiday season around what truly matters. They dive into how teaching kindness and generosity—whether through donating to those in need, volunteering, or small acts of giving—can make a big impact on both your family and your community.
As the year comes to a close, Ildiko and Dan reflect on the value of taking time to appreciate personal, family, and business growth. They offer ideas for setting intentional goals for the year ahead, encouraging families to embrace kindness as a core value year-round. This episode is packed with practical tips and heartfelt insights to help listeners simplify the holidays, protect their peace, and focus on what truly makes Christmas special.
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Luke 2:10-11: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’”
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[00:00:00] It's so tempting to want to get your children everything that you didn't get for Christmas, but don't get carried away with that because truly when I think back, I don't really remember the gifts. I remember the moments.
[00:00:23] Uh, no.
[00:00:27] Ooh, that's better, right babe?
[00:00:32] Yeah.
[00:00:34] She founded an architectural concrete company.
[00:00:37] He founded a $100 million clothing company.
[00:00:40] She took the world by storm as a social media star.
[00:00:43] He took the world by storm as a famous serial entrepreneur.
[00:00:47] Together we started a business.
[00:00:49] And had babies.
[00:00:50] Now we're figuring out the best ways to do both.
[00:00:53] Join us as we learn from other entrepreneurs going through the same life struggles.
[00:00:57] As they share their life hacks about success, love, kids.
[00:01:02] And everything in between.
[00:01:03] Just remember during this Christmas holiday that the things you take for granted, someone else is praying for.
[00:01:12] Sometimes the best Christmas present is remembering what you already got.
[00:01:18] Welcome to the Pretty and Punk podcast.
[00:01:20] My name is Dan Caldwell.
[00:01:22] And I'm here with my beautiful wife and co-host.
[00:01:25] Ilga Coferenzi.
[00:01:27] Hi guys, we missed you.
[00:01:28] And we have another great episode for you guys.
[00:01:31] This one is really with Christmas right around the corner.
[00:01:34] And this special holiday, we wanted to do a special episode about Christmas and what's important to us.
[00:01:45] And some of the things that we find important to us during this Christmas holiday.
[00:01:49] And maybe you guys might get something out of it.
[00:01:52] Something that some of our traditions and some of the things that we like to do during Christmas.
[00:01:58] And maybe something in it will speak to you.
[00:02:00] And you might find an important one to use in your own holidays.
[00:02:04] Something for your kids.
[00:02:05] We were talking to some couples in our community.
[00:02:09] And we were talking about a lot of the things that we do have in common when it comes to Christmas.
[00:02:15] And I was talking to Dan and I said, hey, why don't we do this special podcast?
[00:02:20] Let's take a one-week break from our divorce-proofing marriage series.
[00:02:27] And because Christmas is coming up.
[00:02:30] And let's talk about what Christmas should be about.
[00:02:34] Because I feel a lot of people are getting a little sidetracked.
[00:02:38] A little stressed.
[00:02:39] A little too focused on shopping.
[00:02:42] And the things that don't even matter.
[00:02:44] The things that are going to be forgotten.
[00:02:46] But before we get into that.
[00:02:49] Hey guys, we hope you're enjoying today's episode of the Pretty and Punk podcast.
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[00:03:19] We want to celebrate you because we know it's not easy being a parent in business.
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[00:03:53] And let's get back to the show.
[00:03:54] What is truly important about the Christmas holiday, a lot of people would put a lot of emphasis on the presents and all the things that you're getting.
[00:04:04] But what I feel and what we feel in our family, what is truly important about the Christmas holiday is the time that you spend together and the things that you do together.
[00:04:15] Because sometimes you'll never have more family time than during that Christmas holiday.
[00:04:21] Kids, if your kids are in school, they're getting off of school and you're able to spend that time together.
[00:04:26] I mean, some of my best moments, I didn't really talk about it on the podcast, but my dad passed away a couple months ago.
[00:04:34] And at the funeral, my brother told this story.
[00:04:38] And I had remembered part of this story, but it was from a time around Christmas when in December I was probably seven, seven years old or so.
[00:04:49] My brother's a few years younger than I am.
[00:04:51] And we were waiting at home and it was getting a little bit late and my mom was there and we heard somebody walking on our roof.
[00:05:00] And we got scared.
[00:05:02] We didn't live in the best area of town and somebody's walking around on our roof.
[00:05:07] We're thinking people are trying to break into our home.
[00:05:10] And my mom opened the door to her bedroom door and she jumped outside.
[00:05:15] She said, you kids stay here.
[00:05:16] Don't go nowhere.
[00:05:17] I'm going to run across to the neighbor's house.
[00:05:19] And she went running across the street.
[00:05:22] And then I turned around to my brother and said, hey, you stay here.
[00:05:25] I'm going to go with mom.
[00:05:26] You stay here with the house.
[00:05:28] And I jumped out the window, went running down the street chasing my mom.
[00:05:33] And my poor brother was there left in the home.
[00:05:36] Oh, my gosh.
[00:05:37] And we get out there and my mom turns around and my dad, knowing that Santa wasn't going to be here till Christmas, decided he was going to go up on the roof and yell down the chimney and talk to us like if he was Santa.
[00:05:55] And my mom.
[00:05:56] He tricked you guys.
[00:05:57] My mom's yelling up at the, what are you doing on the roof?
[00:06:00] You scared us to death.
[00:06:02] Oh, no.
[00:06:03] And my dad, of course, had to make up a story.
[00:06:06] And he jumps off the roof and he comes down.
[00:06:09] He's looking for rats.
[00:06:10] I just remember what a great moment it was and how, you know, later we appreciated it so much more down the road.
[00:06:21] And it made for a great story.
[00:06:23] And I'm sure I didn't tell it as well as my brother did at the funeral.
[00:06:27] But, you know, the time that you get to spend with your family is just so important.
[00:06:32] Yeah.
[00:06:32] And I love spending time with our kids during Christmas holidays.
[00:06:36] Yeah, I agree.
[00:06:38] That's cute.
[00:06:38] He probably got a lump of coal from Santa going, how dare you impersonate me?
[00:06:44] That's so fun.
[00:06:45] I mean, and that's the truth.
[00:06:48] That's what Christmas really needs to be about and the heart of Christmas.
[00:06:53] And I feel like so many people are stressing about purchasing the gifts.
[00:06:58] And I know money is really tight for everyone this year.
[00:07:02] And I'm so grateful that we have this tradition where we really, and it's so tempting.
[00:07:09] It's so tempting to want to get your children everything that you didn't get for Christmas.
[00:07:17] But don't get carried away with that.
[00:07:22] Because truly, when I think back, I don't really remember the gifts.
[00:07:27] I remember the moments and the special moments.
[00:07:31] And really, truly hold on to those moments.
[00:07:35] I just remember it being my mom and my brother and just so many wonderful little traditions that she would create for us.
[00:07:45] About the night before the angels would come, there'd be pastries upstairs all of a sudden, all over the table.
[00:07:54] And the lights would be up and that, I don't know how, I don't know when, but it just would appear.
[00:08:02] And I just remember that feeling, that feeling inside.
[00:08:07] Create those kind of traditions and even create new traditions every year.
[00:08:12] It's so special.
[00:08:13] And I feel, you know, Christmas was good.
[00:08:20] But when you have children, there's just, it's just the biggest blessing to be able to relive those moments.
[00:08:31] And this isn't for every family, but for me, when my brother passed away suddenly and just,
[00:08:38] Christmas was never the same until I had my baby, for my mom and I.
[00:08:43] It was always, you know, it was good.
[00:08:47] But when I had my firstborn son, then all of a sudden, it started feeling,
[00:08:55] ooh, I'm about to get emotional.
[00:08:57] It started feeling like it did when David was around.
[00:09:01] And I just, my heart goes out to all the parents that have lost children.
[00:09:09] That's hard at Christmas.
[00:09:11] That is hard.
[00:09:12] And for us, we had to try to make something very special because there's, there's a,
[00:09:21] and anyone, anyone that's missing someone from Christmas, whoever it is, it's hard as a parent.
[00:09:28] But if you're missing anyone, grandparent, whoever's missing, you want to try to do a new tradition
[00:09:37] just to kind of fill that gap because it's tough.
[00:09:41] Yeah.
[00:09:42] And it makes those days harder too when you come up closer to them.
[00:09:46] I feel for my mom coming up to Christmas because I know she's going to have a hard time and my brother.
[00:09:52] Um, it's hard, it's hard to deal with those things when Christmas is coming because it's such a special holiday.
[00:09:58] It's a family holiday.
[00:09:59] And I think another important thing is that we have to remember.
[00:10:02] But you got to focus on the blessings.
[00:10:04] Otherwise you can spiral.
[00:10:05] You really have to focus on the blessings and, and the parents out there.
[00:10:11] You have to focus on the other children, focus on the blessing and keep their memory alive.
[00:10:16] To share, I know we do a Bible reading, but also share some really positive, uplifting stories about the person that you've lost.
[00:10:28] And this isn't applicable to everyone, but I know that there are a few families that we have in our community
[00:10:34] that have lost some special loved ones.
[00:10:37] And, and just, um, you know, have, have a special, have a special something beautiful on the tree, light a candle.
[00:10:45] There's a lot of really nice things that you could do just to lift the mood.
[00:10:49] So thinking of, uh, of all of you that have lost someone and, uh, and you guys are in my prayers for sure.
[00:10:58] And one of the things I, I owe that we do every year, I've done this since I was a little kid and we do it with our kids now,
[00:11:05] is, uh, we read the, the story about the three trees.
[00:11:09] Um, just a great story, grounded story.
[00:11:12] And, you know, brings up, uh, the reason for the season around the time of Christmas.
[00:11:18] Uh, it's a great, if you haven't read that story before, the story of the three trees, you go out and grab it.
[00:11:23] It's a great story to read to your kids.
[00:11:27] And keeping God first place.
[00:11:28] I mean, there's so many, it's a lot of people and they say that, um, I think I read somewhere there was a statistic about that.
[00:11:37] Um, only about 50% of the, maybe it was the U S, um, think about God when it comes to Christmas.
[00:11:47] And so I feel like we're, as a, as a society, we're kind of losing that focus and it's becoming more about presents and grabbing all this special,
[00:11:57] all that stuff at the store before it, it, it goes before it gets sold out.
[00:12:02] And we forget about, uh, going to church and we always go to church on, uh, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve too.
[00:12:10] Or well, how it is.
[00:12:12] If you can't go to church, you can always find something online and just really bring that into your tradition for us.
[00:12:19] I mean, as kids, we didn't have anything online, but we would always, always be at mid, you know, midnight mass.
[00:12:26] And then also, of course you can, if you don't have it, Luke two, 10, 11 and Isaiah nine, six.
[00:12:35] So read those and, um, Matthew six 33, read those before you get into the presence and for our family.
[00:12:47] And this might not be for everyone, but for our family, we've just been really, we plan this before the babies were born.
[00:12:56] And we talked about, you know, what are we going to do at Christmas?
[00:13:00] Are we going to spoil them?
[00:13:01] Um, or because I've been around families that just have tons and tons and tons of, of, of presents.
[00:13:07] And it just feels like that's all it's about.
[00:13:11] And it just feels so overwhelming.
[00:13:13] And the poor parents, you know, just preparing for Santa to bring all those presents.
[00:13:20] And, you know, there's a lot that goes into it and it's incredibly stressful, but on our wishlist,
[00:13:27] it's definitely a three to four gift rule, one thing that they want, one thing that they need,
[00:13:35] one thing to wear and one thing to read.
[00:13:38] I mean, you can substitute the wear thing if, if you want, um, for, for maybe another thing that they need or want,
[00:13:47] uh, as far as just something fun.
[00:13:50] But those, that's the rule that we've really stuck by.
[00:13:54] And sometimes it's hard because I know family wants to, to spoil the kids, but that's the thing
[00:14:01] is they're so grateful and it allows them to be grateful for the things that they receive.
[00:14:09] And then also having that excitement to give back.
[00:14:14] And there's different things that you could do.
[00:14:16] You can, um, you know, work with your church, adopt a family.
[00:14:22] Um, I know our church likes to, they have a list of things that they need and we get to bring stuff to fulfill the list.
[00:14:32] You get to pick out a list and name, a name or well, family name, a thing, a thing, like bread or canned goods or toy.
[00:14:43] And then you fulfill that.
[00:14:46] And then you bring it to church.
[00:14:47] Now you can absolutely also adopt a family.
[00:14:51] Also, you may have seniors in the neighborhood.
[00:14:55] Uh, we love to bake things with the kids and drop it off to the neighbors.
[00:15:01] And I just, I love how excited the kids are when it comes to that.
[00:15:06] Now, another good idea that one of our, our families in our community do is they'll bake some stuff and drop it off to the firefighters or the police, uh, station near to them.
[00:15:19] And I think that that's a really good idea too.
[00:15:21] Or the hospital nurses.
[00:15:23] I think that that's a great idea too.
[00:15:26] We try to focus on the seniors, but I think that one year we'd like to do that as well.
[00:15:31] Yeah.
[00:15:32] Especially remembering, remembering the, I love that remembering people in the neighborhood, you know, that you might have close to you that don't have their family around.
[00:15:41] And they, I know, I remember growing up, we had this lady across the street, Ms. Kenny.
[00:15:47] And, um, she was a little bit of a hoarder, but we would go over there and say hi to her all the time.
[00:15:53] And, and I know she, her family didn't live anywhere by her.
[00:15:56] So my parents would have us go knock on the door and talk to her.
[00:16:00] They'd make us go talk to her and, and, you know, strike up a conversation.
[00:16:04] And especially for Christmas, we'd always go bring her something, some, some, uh, you know, plate of cookies or whatever.
[00:16:09] And, and I remember those moments too, you know, those are the moments that I remember.
[00:16:13] And I didn't actually, I mean, I remember, but I, I really remember as you brought that up because I remember how special that moment was when we got to go over there and give her those cookies.
[00:16:23] Yeah.
[00:16:23] That's the best.
[00:16:24] Uh, that's the best.
[00:16:26] And, and I had that neighbor too.
[00:16:28] And I think that that's so special.
[00:16:30] We had a neighbor, Bernice and Dennis, they're no longer with us.
[00:16:34] But when I was older, I found out that he was battling the C word for years.
[00:16:40] And sometimes he would be so grumpy.
[00:16:43] And I'd remember trying to just figure out how to make him smile.
[00:16:48] And Bernice was my, I asked her to adopt me and it meant so much to her because I no longer, I've, I never met my grandparents.
[00:16:58] So these types of things, it's so special for the people that are involved, but it's so special for your children.
[00:17:06] I loved Bernice and Dennis and I used to sneak over there for dinner.
[00:17:11] And sometimes when my mom was working late and I would ask, can I go spend the day?
[00:17:17] Cause I would always have to go into the store, but can I go spend the day with my grandparents?
[00:17:23] And these things are so, it's such a gift and a blessing.
[00:17:26] I'm telling you, children are a blessing.
[00:17:29] And I didn't realize what a blessing I was to them until I had children.
[00:17:34] And I see what a blessing they are to others, those conversations and just their innocent love and care and preciousness.
[00:17:44] So try to incorporate something like that.
[00:17:48] If you feel comfortable with the people in your neighborhood.
[00:17:51] Yeah, and sit down with the family and watch a Christmas show.
[00:17:54] There's some great ones out there.
[00:17:55] We love Elf.
[00:17:56] We love stories about God.
[00:17:59] I love Elf.
[00:18:00] And, you know, I love watching it with the family.
[00:18:03] Of course, you know, just spending...
[00:18:04] Some of the movies are kind of crazy, but I really do like that one, Star.
[00:18:08] Maybe we'll link some down there.
[00:18:10] That's a great one.
[00:18:11] Yeah, we should link that one.
[00:18:12] Because what I ended up doing...
[00:18:14] It's a cartoon that's on...
[00:18:16] What channel?
[00:18:16] Is that on Netflix?
[00:18:17] No, I have the movie.
[00:18:19] I actually just ordered it.
[00:18:21] We did have it.
[00:18:22] But I don't remember what it was on, but I just ordered it.
[00:18:26] So it's going to be here for Christmas.
[00:18:27] What I ended up doing is I don't like to have free range for the kids.
[00:18:34] I don't like them on these apps.
[00:18:37] And I don't really like the Wi-Fi.
[00:18:39] And we'll get into that when I have some of my medical team with me.
[00:18:44] Some of the healers that helped me with what I was going through.
[00:18:48] But what I do have for them is I bought this DVD player.
[00:18:54] And it's just, you know, you charge it.
[00:18:57] Yeah, something from like 1999.
[00:18:58] No, no, no.
[00:18:59] It's a new one.
[00:19:01] It spins around.
[00:19:02] It's like a little TV.
[00:19:03] They made these same things in 1999.
[00:19:05] Oh, I'm sure.
[00:19:06] I'm sure.
[00:19:07] But, you know, you don't have the Wi-Fi.
[00:19:09] And you don't have all this toxic craziness.
[00:19:12] And you don't have to worry about YouTube switching to something that, you know.
[00:19:18] It looks like a laptop that plays, but it's just a DVD player, a TV DVD player.
[00:19:24] It's about 20, maybe a 20 inches, 20 inches.
[00:19:27] No, almost 30.
[00:19:29] I don't know.
[00:19:29] I can link it for you guys.
[00:19:31] But what's great about it is that you decide what movie you're going to watch.
[00:19:36] And there's going to be no interruptions, no crazy commercials.
[00:19:40] It's not going to run into a YouTube show that you just really will regret.
[00:19:47] And it's cute for all of us to watch for Christmas.
[00:19:52] And we also like to watch on the big screen.
[00:19:55] Yeah.
[00:19:56] Oh, we have a big projector.
[00:19:57] Yeah.
[00:19:57] That projects up on the walls.
[00:19:59] That's so fun.
[00:19:59] It's so fun when you have kids.
[00:20:01] One of the things you have to watch is we always watch the story of Jesus' birth.
[00:20:07] The Chosen One has been our go-to for the past few years since it's been out.
[00:20:13] So if you haven't seen it, it's the first episode, the beginning episode of The Chosen.
[00:20:18] Oh, and they have it on DVD too.
[00:20:19] It's like 20 or 30 minutes long.
[00:20:21] It's a great, it's done so well.
[00:20:24] It's probably the best that I've ever seen.
[00:20:26] And it's great.
[00:20:27] It's real life, you know, real life.
[00:20:30] But it's great for the kids.
[00:20:31] The kids will really like it because there's great acting and it's just done really well.
[00:20:36] And then, of course, that new Mary movie that's out on Netflix.
[00:20:40] Yeah, we haven't seen it yet.
[00:20:41] We haven't seen it yet.
[00:20:42] I'm so excited.
[00:20:44] Executive produced by Joel Osteen.
[00:20:47] And we watched the trailer and it looked really good.
[00:20:50] So it might be a great movie for the family to watch.
[00:20:54] It looks like it might be for a little bit older kids, but the whole family would probably enjoy it.
[00:20:59] So just something like that where you all get to experience and bring it back to the reason for the season.
[00:21:04] And of course, that's Jesus Christ.
[00:21:07] Mm-hmm.
[00:21:08] The birth of Jesus Christ.
[00:21:10] And do you have anything else?
[00:21:12] Anything else that you're...
[00:21:13] I mean, I just...
[00:21:14] Well, other than that, obviously healthy boundaries for the holidays.
[00:21:18] Just keeping it really healthy around the kids.
[00:21:21] If you know that there's, you know, someone or something that's toxic.
[00:21:25] We want to protect our...
[00:21:27] We want to protect ourselves.
[00:21:29] We want to protect our children.
[00:21:31] I mean, that's not...
[00:21:32] That's not something for...
[00:21:34] Something that everybody needs to do.
[00:21:37] But, I mean, the people out there that do need those boundaries,
[00:21:42] you know what needs to be done.
[00:21:44] You know what needs to be done.
[00:21:45] So definitely put those boundaries into place.
[00:21:51] Also financial boundaries.
[00:21:52] Set budgets for the gifts, the decorations, and the outings just to prevent that holiday stress.
[00:21:58] Especially right now when everything's so tight.
[00:22:03] Everything's so pricey.
[00:22:05] And it just...
[00:22:07] You gotta set that stuff in place for yourself.
[00:22:11] And I think that that three and four present rule...
[00:22:14] I know a lot of high achievers are tapping into that.
[00:22:20] But it's also a really good thing to do to save those bucks.
[00:22:25] Especially when things are tight.
[00:22:27] I think that that's really important.
[00:22:29] And it's important for your kids' souls.
[00:22:31] Yes.
[00:22:31] I mean, we just...
[00:22:32] We've been doing that since we were babies.
[00:22:34] And they never...
[00:22:35] So, I mean, it's so refreshing to kind of see...
[00:22:40] They're so happy just to get two or three gifts.
[00:22:43] Yeah.
[00:22:43] Have you seen that YouTube video of that little girl who gets a slice of cake for her birthday?
[00:22:50] Oh, I could cry.
[00:22:51] And she just starts crying because she's so excited about getting this slice of cake for her birthday and this candle.
[00:22:58] And that's the thing.
[00:22:58] And it makes them so appreciative of just, you know, being grateful.
[00:23:04] Counting their blessings for what they have.
[00:23:06] And I remember, you know, as she's blowing out the candle, you can see in the background they live...
[00:23:10] They have a dirt floor in their house.
[00:23:12] She's crying because she's so grateful.
[00:23:13] She's so happy and grateful.
[00:23:16] But yet...
[00:23:16] And they're living in a house that's got a dirt floor in it.
[00:23:20] And, you know, it just...
[00:23:21] It shows you how blessed we all are that, you know, we should all be appreciative for what we have.
[00:23:28] Exactly.
[00:23:28] You know, the blessings that we have that we take for granted, you know, other people are praying for this Christmas.
[00:23:34] Exactly.
[00:23:35] And that's the thing is, when I had the conversation with you, I said, I'm really scared because I've seen kids just rip presents open.
[00:23:45] We didn't really have that in our family.
[00:23:47] My mom did what she could do.
[00:23:49] And I remember some years I got like a replica of something.
[00:23:53] And I remember maybe inside I felt like, well, that's not the one I wanted.
[00:23:59] But I knew I could never, ever say that out loud.
[00:24:01] And I honestly was brought to tears that she tried so hard.
[00:24:07] She tried because I knew how hard she worked.
[00:24:11] And she did, you know, not the ones from Santa, but the ones from her.
[00:24:17] She was trying so hard to please me.
[00:24:22] And I'll never forget that.
[00:24:24] So I just don't ever want to desensitize our kids to, or even to have that discipline.
[00:24:30] Oh, I didn't get what I want.
[00:24:31] Like, I just, I don't even know what I would do.
[00:24:34] Like, I just want them to be so grateful for the things in their life.
[00:24:39] I don't want to teach them to hoard.
[00:24:42] I don't want them to have more than they need.
[00:24:46] I want them to be able to just, just have what they need.
[00:24:51] If they ever need to pick up in life to move.
[00:24:54] I don't want things to be holding them back.
[00:24:57] Yeah, I want them to be grateful for what they have and realize the blessing, how blessed that they are.
[00:25:02] Because God's not going to give you more blessings to be blessed, feel grateful for.
[00:25:06] If you're not, if you're not feeling blessed with the blessing you already have.
[00:25:09] Right.
[00:25:10] And then also, this whole season, it helps to teach your kids about financial responsibility.
[00:25:17] And involving them in the budgeting for their own giving.
[00:25:21] Or for what goes into the treats that we're making others.
[00:25:25] And again, I know how I mentioned the emotional boundaries to protect the family's peace.
[00:25:32] By managing difficult relationships.
[00:25:34] Or limiting disruptive dynamics during gatherings.
[00:25:38] So I think all those things are a little bit, or sorry, all those things are important.
[00:25:44] And that we take account for those types of boundaries.
[00:25:50] Now the other thing that is important to us and to many of you, I'm sure, is reflecting on the year.
[00:25:58] We need to do our family reflections.
[00:26:01] What went really well?
[00:26:03] What could we have done better?
[00:26:04] And suggest taking time together to discuss the highlights and the challenges of the past year.
[00:26:12] Because let's face it, you know, they're involved in the ups and downs.
[00:26:16] And let's talk about it.
[00:26:18] Create a gratitude jar where the family writes a little something about what they're grateful for.
[00:26:25] I know that we do it every single morning.
[00:26:28] But it would be nice to see what they could come up with this year.
[00:26:33] Well, I think a year-long reflection for what are you grateful for in the past year.
[00:26:38] So it's like a year-long reflection, a culmination of the whole year.
[00:26:42] Yeah.
[00:26:43] It's a great exercise.
[00:26:44] I really like that.
[00:26:45] And then also writing a family letter that celebrates the lessons and the blessings from 2024.
[00:26:51] And that carries on into New Year's.
[00:26:54] So somewhere in between that.
[00:26:55] I mean, you can do that for your Christmas tradition or run it into the New Year's.
[00:27:00] But I really like that letter that celebrates the lessons and the blessings from 2024.
[00:27:07] Yeah.
[00:27:07] So that is, I think, another valuable little tradition to do together.
[00:27:13] And for all of us as a family, our business reflection, also talking about what we could do differently, better, what has worked,
[00:27:25] and share the importance of reflecting on entrepreneurial wins and losses together as a family.
[00:27:32] Encourage, it just encourages us as parents to use the time to realign our business goals with our family priorities.
[00:27:42] And definitely celebrate the growth.
[00:27:45] Even if it's a little teeny tiny growth or a big growth, just celebrate the growth either way.
[00:27:52] Yeah.
[00:27:52] Talk about it and celebrate how far you guys have come over the past year.
[00:27:56] And that's important.
[00:27:57] I encourage you guys to do that for sure.
[00:28:00] So as a part of New Year's, you know, that's coming.
[00:28:02] But remember, guys, this Christmas, we are pushing for you guys.
[00:28:05] We're praying for you guys.
[00:28:06] I hope you guys have an amazing holiday.
[00:28:09] And remember the reason for the season.
[00:28:12] Remember presents.
[00:28:14] It's not just about the presents under the tree.
[00:28:16] It's about the presence of God in your life during the Christmas holiday.
[00:28:21] And counting your blessings for all the blessings that you guys have had over the past year.
[00:28:27] And remember the reason for the season.
[00:28:30] Yeah.
[00:28:30] Just spread that kindness.
[00:28:32] Share the stories of kindness with your family.
[00:28:35] Share the stories, the wonderful, beautiful stories about the loved ones that are no longer with us.
[00:28:43] And remember, kindness starts at home.
[00:28:46] And remember, as parents, we're the ones modeling that kindness and creating these traditions and paying it forward and all the things that go into it.
[00:28:56] So think about how we can be generous, not only at Christmas, but throughout 2025.
[00:29:04] Commit to growth.
[00:29:05] Reflect on the year's lessons and challenges and step into the new year with purpose, kindness, and of course, most importantly, faith.
[00:29:16] God bless you.
[00:29:17] Thank you for spending this time with us.
[00:29:19] I'm so grateful to have you guys a part of this community.
[00:29:23] And I hope we were able to touch you and just bring this beautiful energy into you guys.
[00:29:33] And we're so happy that we're praying for you guys.
[00:29:39] We're praying for you guys.
[00:29:40] We're praying for you guys.
[00:29:41] We love you so much.
[00:29:42] And we'll catch you guys next week.
[00:29:44] God bless.
[00:29:44] God bless.
[00:29:46] Thank you for listening to this very special Christmas holiday podcast.
[00:29:52] We hope it got the best of you.
[00:29:55] I hope you have an amazing holiday.
[00:29:57] And we'll see you next week.
[00:29:59] God bless.
[00:30:00] Thank you for listening to the Pretty and Punk podcast.
[00:30:04] I hope you had a blessed Christmas.
[00:30:07] And remember the reason for the season.
[00:30:09] I can't wait to hear all about your traditions.
[00:30:12] And I bless you.
[00:30:15] I love you.
[00:30:17] We love you.
[00:30:18] Bye.