Joanna Gaines Explained Why She Gets ‘So Sad’ Every Time She Puts Up Her Christmas Tree
Joanna Gaines explained why putting up her family Christmas tree makes her “so sad” and her trick for remaining present for the magical moments around the holidays despite it.
The lifestyle mogul seeks to “let the ordinary become the extraordinary” this time of year. But she also confessed that when the tree goes up each holiday season, she can’t help but feel “a good kinda sad” about yet another year gone by.
‘Nostalgia and Christmas are wrapped together’ for Joanna Gaines
Over the years, Joanna and Chip have shared some of their family Christmas traditions with followers. For example, they enjoy baking cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and using some of the same ornaments each year.
In 2022, Joanna said Christmas stirs a feeling of reminiscence for her and a longing for presence so that she can soak in the moments that create cherished memories. She wrote about those fine points on the Magnolia blog, noting one detail she clings to is “the resemblance in [her] children’s faces as their heavy eyes reach for just one more look at [the] light-studded tree before nodding off to sleep.”
“Year after year, these are the details that ground me, upholding the promise of being in a moment that future moments will recall,” Joanna explained. “More and more, nostalgia and Christmas are wrapped together in my mind.”
She added that she tends to “anticipate reliving the moments and traditions that define this season … more than anything new.”
Joanna Gaines once said she gets ‘a good kinda sad’ every time she puts up the family Christmas tree
Joanna wrote on Instagram about a conversation she had with her daughter, Emmie, in 2017. “This family tree gets me every time,” she captioned a photo. “Emmie asked why I always get so sad when we put this tree up, and I told her it’s a good kinda sad.”
“I explained these memories on this tree are so sweet, and time just goes by so fast. This tree is full of firsts for each of us, many meaningful ornaments, and lots of handmade who knows what,” she shared.
“It’s my favorite,” Joanna concluded, “and I treasure this time every year.”
Joanna Gaines tries to savor magical Christmas moments
Joanna wrote on the Magnolia blog that she tries to make the most of each moment around the holidays. “I want to let the ordinary become the extraordinary — the very thing this season reminds us is possible,” she explained. “It’s why a tree branch, dripping bulbs of color, can hold our gaze in childlike wonder. Or a field, fresh with snow, can set the soul at such rest.”
However, Joanna warned her audience not to get lost in trying to achieve impossible or unimportant things. She noted, “This isn’t about making every moment high-stakes. It’s not about adding more pressure to these final days of the year by trying to make every second meaningful.”
“That won’t work,” she advised. “And besides, it feels like we’d be stripping those moments of their magic.”
