May I Recommend: Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton
Perfect if you're craving an intentional and mindful season ahead
Welcome to May I Recommend. A series where I recommend a book I love in a really fun and relatable way. Think: mood boards, favorite quotes, playlists, and similar TV/movie/book vibes. Consider it a heartfelt recommendation from me to you.
I was catching up on Substack posts last week and was pleased to see in my feed. Samantha lives on the West Coast in a seaside town that reminds me of Maine. We found each other on Instagram years ago and have been exchanging book recommendations ever since. I always delight to see what she's been reading and loving.
In her round-up, she shared Calm Christmas by . It's been a while since I saw a book recommendation, bookmarked it as something I'm interested in, and immediately started reading it. I downloaded it to my Kindle and was instantly hooked, reading it in just a few sittings over the weekend. This book feels like a warm hug and a deep exhalation.
I've felt increasingly disenchanted about the holiday season for the last few years. This thoughtful book rekindled a spark of excitement for this holiday season (because celebrating doesn't have to be an endless cycle of rushing, stressing, spending, and consumerism). I look forward to welcoming the next few weeks and the page turn into the new year. So, I knew I wanted to share it for this edition of May I Recommend.
The gist
In this compact book, Kempton invites the reader to reflect on their holiday seasons past and drill down on what the season means to you. She offers five stories that we often associate with the holiday - Faith, Magic, Connection, Abundance, and Heritage - and lays out some questions to help you determine which story means the most to you.
She shares bits of history, advice, anecdotes, and stories about how to craft an intentional season based on your values and encourages, over and over, that less is more.
The book is written in three sections, walking you through the lead-up to the Christmas holidays, the celebration itself, and the week between Christmas and New Year when we prepare to fully welcome winter.
The thoughts
loved Kempton's approach! It's a simple and thoughtful approach to help the reader reflect, which I appreciated. I love spending time with my loved ones this time of year. But, I increasingly feel like these last few weeks of the year are a scramble that catapults me into the New Year feeling depleted.
Through actionable advice and reflection, Kempton assures us that it's okay to slow down and do things your way. She includes several reflection questions that I found myself returning to all weekend and mulling over. They helped me distill down what's important to me this season and the simple ways I can infuse them into the season without overcommitting.
The foundation of this book is an idea that I love but have needed a lot of reminding of lately, which is that it's okay to determine what's important to you and let go of the rest. When practiced in all areas of my life, this mindset always leaves me feeling calmer and better.
The book is largely focused on Christmas, but a good portion talks about welcoming in the winter season as a whole and how to be mindful throughout the entire season. It's also not a heavily religious book, so if you don't have a strong faith-based part of your celebration of Christmas (I don't!), this still resonates as a guide to help you through the celebrations of December and ease into the New Year and winter season with intention.
If you, like me, are craving to slow down and savor this season, this book is for you. It's the perfect read in the coming week or two to help center you before we dive into the heart of the end of the year. I know it helped me so much.
The vibe
Hot mugs of tea. Cold, crisp mornings. Long walks outside with crunchy leaves. Big sweaters. Afternoons spent reading. Visits to the seaside on blustery days. Twinkle lights everywhere. The smell of vanilla coming from your oven. Cooking in the kitchen with your favorite playlist. Intentional gift buying. Joyful celebrations. Meaningful time spent with people you love. Feeling peaceful and calm. Avoiding the shopping mall. Unsubscribing from the deluge of marketing emails.
The visuals
Who doesn’t love a good book mood board? This is what I pictured while reading. Lots of candlelight. Simple, nature-inspired decor, good meals with loved ones, movie nights, baking, and picking out beautiful wrapping to present thoughtful gifts in. But this will look different for everyone since everyone has a different version of what a calm holiday season means to them. And, in reality, this is a very aspirational version. What’s most important is that your holiday season feels good, not just looks good.
Quotes I loved
At this time of year it's natural to slow down, prune our lives of extraneous details, reflect on past events, and tend our hearts, minds, and bodies so we are ready to flourish again.
Simplicity, generosity, delight, and belonging are the true touchstones of festive joy.
A calm Christmas does not have to be a small Christmas or even a quiet Christmas. Rather, it is one where you remove your known stressors, let go of perfection, and focus on what really matters to you.
Winter is surprisingly kind in many ways, but mostly because it expects so little of us.
Approached in a gentle way, Christmas can be a time of nourishment and rejuvenation as you bask in the glow of friendship and thoughtfulness, both bestowed and received.
Are you going to read this one? I’d love to know! And I’d love to know what you think if you do.
‘Til next time,
PS: If you enjoyed this post, here are a few others you might love as well.
Just requested this from the library! You know I’m as disenchanted with the consumerist and wasteful tone of the holiday in America for the same reasons as you are, so maybe this will help me love December again ❤️
Michelle, this is perfect! Based on my post for today, we seem to be on a similar wavelength 😂 I’m going to pick this one up immediately! I love Beth Kempton—I did one of her virtual writing retreats last year and it was so wonderful; the perfect mix of inspiring with slower pace. This book sounds perfect for right now!