Can you believe it? Its' Christmas Eve!! We're going to blink and it's going to be Christmas day. I think we should ease in and out of this holiday personally. We spend so much time preparing for one day and then it's over just like that. I know there's more to Christmas than the day…but in today's busy world it's easy to forget that. It's such a special time. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, there's a magic in the air that I hope everyone sees even with the hustle and bustle of today's busy living. Each year, I tell myself that I want to savor every moment, celebration, and activity with my family and each year I find myself getting busier and a little more stressed than the Christmas before. So there are some things I want to remember in all of this and I hope my kids cherish these as well.
1) I want my kids to remember the feeling. Not the feeling of mom and dad being stressed. The the feeling that mom is too busy photographing clients to make memories with her kids The feeling of magic in the month of December. I know…sounds lame and cliché. But really. I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach about the magic of the season and from the sounds of it, my children do to. Sometimes they can't describe that feeling but they feel it!. Right now, they are full of excitement and giddiness, I just want to soak that in!
2) I want them to remember the traditions. Right now my kids want to celebrate each day. Sometimes we don't get around to doing a specific activity but we enjoy talking about it in hopes we can do that soon (or some other time this winter). We have an advent calendar - actually we have an 'in-process' advent calendar that we started to put together but like some things, they don't get finished….maybe next year. Despite it being incomplete, we've done many activities on a whim and it's even more fun without the pressure of making sure we conform to what activity the calendar tells us to do. We've baked cookies, wrapped gifts, made Candy Christmas trees, looked at Christmas Lights, made hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows, hosted parties, watched movies and just had quiet time together. Every one of these moments I want to cherish (and more importantly, I want them to as well), even the non-eventful quiet times.
3) Lastly, I want them to remember is to be thankful. Sure it's a happy time of year. But it's also a stressful and pressured time. A time when even though I love it, my spirits can be low with so much to do and so little time. I don't want my kids to feel those blues during the holidays. The pressure of the season can take over and I know it's a hard time for many people. So if we remember the meaning of Christmas, give to others (especially those in need) it puts everything back into perspective. We have my family, friends, health and loving support…there's just so much to be thankful for that we take for granted some days. This is the season we have to keep that in the forefront of our minds. And I hope I can teach my kids to remember this during the holidays and everyday.
Merry Christmas Friends! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog on this busy day. xoxo Peace.
