Why I’m Saying “NO!” to Social Media in December

{originally published in 2012}   Every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time, a peculiar thing happens. In the secular world, advertisements for shopping deals become as numerous as political adds in an election year. We are told about this deal and that deal and how we need to “hurry in” before the sale ends. Crazy schedule planning ensues amongst all of the holiday parties and stress abounds. Moms everywhere are running a million different directions. In the Christian world,  an even more peculiar thing happens. If you watch your Facebook or Twitter feed between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you will notice an array of posts about “keeping the true meaning of Christmas.” One post talks about how evil it is to have a Christmas tree. Another post will mention that the best way to keep the meaning of Christmas is to give your children only 3 gifts, just like the 3 Kings gave Jesus 3 gifts. You will probably find at least 2 or 3 blog posts that talk about how their family decided to stop giving gifts at Christmas. This family will talk about how free they feel each year to celebrate what is truly important. And don’t forget the debates about saying Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. If you are like me, between the chaos of all of the advertisements that tell me to “Shop, spend, shop!” and the Christian blog posts that tell me to “remember the real reason for the season and quit being so selfish!” you end up feeling like nothing you do this holiday season is right. This year, I’m putting an end to it. While I think it is healthy to examine how my family does Christmas, and make sure we are making a bigger deal out of Jesus than presents, I need a break from all of the tips well meaning Christian bloggers and Tweeters put out there. I really do want to spend this holiday season being thankful for who God is, and what He is doing on this earth, and I want to celebrate His birth with my family and friends. The more I read about what I’m doing WRONG with Thanksgiving and Christmas, the more I think about myself, and the less I think about Jesus.  This year I’m signing off of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest from Thanksgiving until December 26. Whew. I said it! Lots of people sign off during Lent but I decided that this year, I wanted a break from knowing what everyone else is doing during the holidays. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE to keep up with people and hear what is going on in their lives. I will miss it! But between Thanksgiving and Christmas I think it will be easier for me to focus on the true meaning of the season by turning off all of the voices that come into my head via Facebook and Twitter feeds. Before you call the psychiatrist on me, know that my husband is a Biblical counselor and he happily approves of my plan to get rid of the social media voices that are always present in my mind. 🙂 My hope is that I will have lots more intentional time with my kids this holiday season. I won’t be able to check Facebook and Twitter all day.  Moms, as we all know, we can end up spending a lot of time staring at our screens while our children beg to read us a book, or show us their latest creation. I hope that I will be able to do some activities centered around the meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas with my kids. And I will have to do an old-fashioned Google search rather than looking on Pinterest!! Gasp! Wish me luck readers. I’m excited about this venture and a little nervous. From one social media addict to another, Happy Holidays!!! (What? I’m covering my bases for Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.)