I believe that celebration is a weapon, that joy is a gift to capture and cultivate, and that our ability to rejoice in all things at all times will greatly determine our quality of life. But I also believe that we’ve made a mess out of something meant to be a simple human experience.

Over the last decade, celebration has gone next level. Enter Pinterest parties and winsome weddings with all the trimmings. Some charge forth in stride, barely breaking a sweat - born for balloon arches and baby shower bingo. But most stand paralyzed, surrounded by false expectations and failed attempts to replicate the picture-perfect memories they see on the filtered grids they follow. When I talk about celebration with my friends, I most often encounter discouragement. So many of you feel like you are doing it wrong - like you need to call in an expert to make your already beautiful life appear extra beautiful.

As a professional Merry Maker (yes, I gave myself that title and I am rolling with it), can I let you in on a little secret? The gift of celebration is not just one's ability to make something special but mostly the ability to stop and recognize when something already is. And it’s rarely found in grand gestures and once in a blue moons. Special happens nearly every day in tiny ways. Common Revelry was born out of a desire to help lower the bar on perfection while raising the bar on the importance and approachability of everyday joy.

So consider this your very informal invitation to the party - we’re casual around here after all. Let’s grow together, discovering how best to find and celebrate life in the mundane moments and make a simple life of revelry much more common.