Keeping The Slow Season Slow
…or at least trying to.
There is a moment every year on Prince Edward Island when you can feel the Island shift.
The fields rest.
The mornings sharpen with a cold edge.
The roads grow quieter, as if everyone has instinctively tucked themselves into earlier evenings and warm kitchens.
Life out here slows down long before Christmas arrives.
And yet somehow… I never seem to slow down with it.
The Island knows how to soften into the season.
I am still learning.
(Photo: A quiet PEI evening, you can feel the island starting to slow down.)
The Christmas Current: Excitement, Overwhelm, and My Yearly Tug of War
Every November, life speeds up for me, both personally and at the Preserve Company. It is our biggest gifting season. Boxes to wrap, teas to blend, preserves to pack and ship, and customers choosing gifts to send across the country. It is meaningful, heart-filling work, and it is also a lot.
And every year, even before December arrives, I feel myself getting swept up in what I call the Christmas Current.
🙈 The pace quickens.
🙈 The to-do list grows.
🙈 The expectations I set for myself slip in quietly, and suddenly I am saying yes too often, overscheduling without meaning to, and trying to fit in every moment with everyone.
I love Christmas deeply. The lights, the gatherings, the giving, the joy. But the same part of me that loves making things special is also the part that tends to overdo it. And sometimes, in all that effort, I forget to actually feel the magic I am working so hard to create.
The PEI Lesson: The Land Does Not Rush
Inside the shop, there is a joyful bustle, people choosing their favourite treats to send to loved ones, picking up traditions, adding something new to their holiday table.
Little touches of holiday decor, thanks to our amazing team, are popping up around the shop and adding a hint of cheer.
The smell of freshly baked shortbreads drifts through every corner. And with the Island’s Hot Chocolate Trail officially underway, we have new faces coming in to try our “Orange You Cozy” hot chocolate, a fun seasonal twist that has been bringing so many smiles through the door.
Outside, PEI moves at winter’s pace.
The river keeps its slow, thoughtful rhythm.
Snow arrives when it feels like arriving.
Communities ease into the season with porch lights, early nights, and simple gatherings.
The Island keeps offering the same gentle reminder:
You can work hard without letting your heart race.
(Photo: Our hot chocolate 'Orange You Cozy' this year for the annual Hot Chocolate Trail.)
What I Actually Crave
When I think about what truly fills me up, it is always the small things.
🎄Baking with the kids
🎄Family dinners.
🎄Driving around to admire Christmas lights.
🎄The music of the season.
🎄Giving back.
🎄A cup of my favourite tea by the tree.
🎄Intentional time with friends and family.
🎄An unscheduled date-night with Adam.
These are the moments where the season feels the most like itself.
My Aha Moment and a Lesson From My Mom
Somewhere in the middle of this season, something finally clicked.
I do not have to earn the magic of Christmas by doing more.
The magic is already here.
I see it in our kids, how their excitement shows up differently now but still beautifully.
Not in the childhood rituals we used to have, but in the small things that remain.
The cookies they look for.
The ornaments they claim.
The familiar pieces of Christmas that still make them smile.
I feel it in the shop too.
Some days it honestly feels like a Hallmark movie, with gift boxes being curated, handwritten cards tucked inside, and customers telling us our preserves have been part of their holiday traditions for years. People choosing a little taste of PEI to send across the country, hoping it becomes part of someone else’s Christmas story.
Those moments land differently this year because I am finally letting myself notice them.
And maybe I am learning from my mom, who has been modeling this shift for years.
Growing up, she carried the whole season for our family. Over time, I have watched her move through the holidays with more calm, more ease, and more presence…Still joyful, but gentler.
It feels like a quiet invitation I am finally ready to accept.
(Photo: A new box this year called 'Marsha's Favourites'. It has all of my holiday essentials!)
A Reminder From Portugal
Our week in Portugal added another layer to the lesson.
The beautiful scenery, the crispness in the air, the sleepy little towns felt so much like home in November.
Quiet, unhurried, uncomplicated. We moved through our days with no rushing, choosing when to be with our little group and when to slip away for time just the two of us.
One morning, I booked a massage, and I did not realize until the massage therapist laid his hands on my shoulders just how tightly I had been holding myself.
A wake-up call.
A reminder that my body often speaks the truth long before my mind catches up.
Another quiet nudge.
I need to stretch more.
Unwind more.
Give myself room to unclench before I push too far.
So in true new-season fashion, I have the 30-Day Yoga With Adriene Challenge ready to go on my phone for December.
Portugal reminded me of what the Island has been teaching me for years.
You do not need to go fast to be fully alive.
And as I sit in the lounge aboard the AmaSintra, Christmas jazz humming softly through my AirPods, I realize how beautifully calm and excitement can coexist.
Choosing a Softer Season
This year, I am trying to pause each day and take a small, honest moment to match the Island’s rhythm.
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A few gentle questions:
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What actually needs my attention?
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What made me feel lighter?
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Where can I let go?
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Do I need rest, warmth, quiet, or connection?
These small check-ins are my way of choosing gentler over bigger, presence over perfection, and less on the calendar with more room to breathe.
More meaningful moments, fewer obligations.
More noticing of the magic that is already here instead of trying to create more of it.
I want this season to feel like a quiet drive through New Glasgow after dark, with soft lights glowing and just enough room to exhale.
The Island Teaches Us, If We Are Willing to Listen
Maybe that is the quiet wisdom of living on Prince Edward Island in November and December.
You can show up fully for the people you love,
for the work that matters,
and still soften into the season.
This year I think I am truly beginning to understand that.
Not perfectly, but enough.
And right on time.
Lots of love,
Marsha
