What Happens When Christmas Doesn't Go According to Plan?

I have a North Pole rule that surprises people:

The plan is allowed to change.

We make a lot of plans here. There are schedules for the Toy Factory, Reindeer Ranch, Santa’s Mail Station, sleigh practice, wrapping, baking, decorating, and Christmas Eve.

And then real life walks in wearing snowy boots.

An elf gets tired. A machine stops working. A reindeer refuses to practice because there is an especially interesting snowbank nearby. A recipe takes twice as long as expected. Santa cannot find his gloves even though they are exactly where I told him they were.

So we adjust.

Sometimes we do less. Sometimes we move something to tomorrow. Sometimes we ask another elf to help. Sometimes we decide that the thing we thought was absolutely necessary was not actually necessary at all.

Families can do that, too.

Maybe everyone is too tired for the activity you planned. Maybe the cookies burn. Maybe somebody needs quiet instead of another event. Maybe a tradition that was fun last year feels like too much this year.

Changing the plan does not mean you failed.

It means you noticed what people needed and made a better decision.

That sounds pretty magical to me.

Mrs. Claus

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