January 2026 Joy Journal

Welcome to the Joy Journal! For 2026, Garrett and I set an intention to make “more joy” our focus. We’re only a few weeks in, and I have already found this mindset so helpful. One way I plan to carry out our intention is by writing this new series. I would love it to become a collection of monthly reflections that magnify the goodness of each season, full of little moments that matter to us. I’m excited to see how it takes shape!

With that introduction, here are just a few of the things that made us smile in January.

2026 Bingo Cards

Inspired by a friend, I started an annual bingo card in 2025. I’m doing it again in 2026 with a few enhancements based on my experience last year. What is it? It’s a poster board with 25 boxes - each filled with a goal. When you complete a goal, you check off its box. Complete five in a row, and you get the idea. Bingo! Transparently, I only actually got one bingo on my 2025 card despite checking off many boxes.

Hence, the enhancements. In 2026, Garrett and I made joint bingo cards. We also made the goals in each square easier to check off: mostly one-time things like trying a new recipe and doing a puzzle together, instead of taking 2.5 million steps. I actually hope this makes the bingo card feel less like a list of goals and more like a reminder to add some sparkle into our year. I love that we’re doing everything together!

And I very much hope we’ll do plenty of “we got a bingo” happy dances this year.

The Joy Jar

Inspired by a former leader at work who did this with her family, we also started a joy jar. The idea is simple. We put a glass jar on a bookshelf. Every time something joyful happens, big or small, we’re going to write it down and put that note in the jar.

We plan to read them all back on New Year’s Eve and then start another fresh joy jar in 2027. We could definitely make this fancier, but I like the simplicity.

I can’t wait to see the jar fill up over the next twelve months!

Anti-Chef

Credit to my sister, who introduced our entire family to this YouTube channel while hosting Thanksgiving last year. We've watched a ton from the catalog of episodes on his channel, giggling along with Jamie, the “anti-chef,” in each one.

Beyond his humor, I love Jamie’s attitude towards cooking. Nothing is too big to try. Nothing has to be perfect. He recovers from every mistake with either a rescue mission or simply trying again from the beginning. His “I’m just not going to give up without a fight” reminders actually inspired me to go big with my gingerbread house this holiday season and to try macarons. This spirit also helped me bounce back to make cake truffles after a chocolate cake I made crumbled out of the pan. Lovely reminder that it’s all just for fun!

Macarons

This was such a big moment that it deserves a second photo!

Speaking of bingo cards, I put making macarons on my 2025 version. I avoided it all last year because I was afraid I wouldn’t do it right. As it turned out, I did not need to be scared at all! It was an exacting process, but the instructions I followed were descriptive and helpful.

My favorite moment was peeking into the oven and exclaiming, “They have feet!” That moment was pure joy!

Crafting Projects

I’ve felt a renewed creative energy in my crafting projects as well in January. After finishing my Pierre the Penguin Wooble kit just before the new year, I dove straight into a cross-stitch project. It’s a cross-stitch reindeer barn for my 3D Christmas village. I’ve enjoyed many peaceful afternoons and evenings working on it!

Also, crafting projects lend themselves beautifully to scheduling joyful crafternoons with friends!

Signing Up for a Baking Retreat

Another tip I’ve seen for maximizing joy is to plan a joyful event for the future because there is extra joy in the anticipation! I am so excited to participate in this event with my mom later this year! There will be baking classes, meals, a bakery tour, and even more. It all sounds absolutely magnificent! Signing up was a very “why not” thing to do, and I can’t wait!

Wrapping Up January

I’ve loved writing this first reflection, especially because I had to edit out so many joyful moments to keep it fairly brief! That’s not to say that January hasn’t had its difficulties. It certainly has provided its share of those. I really do appreciate, though, the way practicing our intention to focus on joy has magnified the goodness for me. Despite any challenges we may be facing, “why not” give the joys of here and now their moment to glow?

I’d love to hear what you would put in your (metaphorical or actual) joy jar this month!

xx