Now don't flip out - I'm not skipping Thanksgiving. I haven't turned on the Christmas music yet, my fall decorations are still up, and I have no intention of ignoring the pilgrims and the indians and all that. I just wanted to get some thoughts out now because I'm hoping for a little inspiration.
Allow me to start from the beginning.
I am a very laid back mother. I don't plan things, we have never operated on any kind of schedule here, sometimes we have ice cream for breakfast, but we put it on a waffle so it's legit. But one thing about being a laid back kind of mom that has really started to bother me lately is that I have never implemented any kind of traditions. Specifically holiday traditions. We just go with the flow around the holidays and whatever happens happens. But I want my kids to grow up with just a tiny bit of predictability to look forward to. Some continuity to remember when they're old. All that good stuff.
The Nativity - 2009
So this year I've decided to change Christmas up a little bit.
The biggest change is going to be our focus. We usually get caught up in all the commercialism, and while a little bit of that is fine, that's not why we celebrate Christmas. So we will be putting more focus on celebrating the birth of our Savior this year. So, in essence, all the traditions I'm hoping to initiate this year will hopefully help us keep that more important purpose in mind. Beginning with...
1. We're cutting back on gifts for the kids. We've never really gone all out. It's not like we stuff so many presents under the tree that the kids can't even get into the room on Christmas morning to open them. But we're cutting our probably average Christmas shopping down to four gifts. Each kid gets four presents: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. That's all. (I got that idea from a friends blog ages ago, and won't link to it here because I'm not sure how private she likes to keep things. Also, I can't flippin' find the post.)
Charlie Brown Christmas Tree - 2010
We've told the kids why we're doing this and asked them to make lists expressing their wishes in each of these four categories so that we can alert Santa to our new way of doing things...but that's all a ruse because the shopping is all done. Which brings me to another new December point...
2. All the stressful stuff will be done before December 1st hits the calendar. Shopping, wrapping, card writing, planning - everything. December will be a strees-free month. Well, as much as in my power to control, anyway. All of the time saved on stressing and shopping will be spent doing things together. You know - family time - that thing that never happens once your kids are old enough to be in scouts and sports and stuff. This isn't really a tradition, but it's an important part of the plan.
3. So what will we do with all this family time? I have a few ideas so far.
- The first comes from another friend, and it is fabulous. I also won't link to her blog because she's another that I'm not certain of the privacy wishes. Last year this friend posted about some of the things she loves about Christmas, and my favorite of them all was that she wraps Christmas books from their home library as well as the public library like presents and they open one each night in December to read together. Genius. So I've already checked out a bunch of books from the library because it appears that we only have about 14 Christmas books in our ownership, and they are in the top of my closet waiting to be wrapped. (Yes, I know I'll have to renew these books the maximum number of times allowed in order to avoid late fees between now and Christmas, but have you noticed how quickly the Christmas books disappear from the library shelves??)
- Another idea is to find a service project that we can do as a family. I figure that the best gift we can offer the Savior during the month of his birth is to serve someone he loves. I don't know what that will entail exactly yet - but the possibilities are endless.
- Also - we're going to have the kids think about someone who might need a reminder that they are loved and we will find a special Christmas gift for that person(s) and deliver it anonymously sometime in December.
- And finally - you can't let a Christmas season go by without lots of baking and movie watching. The kids will have to vote on their favorite movies and stick to those because we tried to watch all of our favorites last year and we just couldn't do it.
Making gingerbread houses - 2011
So - this is where my ideas end and I hope yours continue. If you have ideas for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any-day-of-the-year traditions that you'd be willing so share, I'd love to hear them. I'm going for a December to remember here, and there are a lot of days to fill up with memories. They don't have to be big - just little things that I hope we can do every year and remember fondly when all the kids have moved out. When Andrew and I are old we're going to need something to convince us that the clean house we're sitting in might not be as good as what we used to have in the messy house. You get the idea. Comment away!
That sounds like a lot of traditions to me! My favorite from when I was a kid was our advent calendar, which was not a calendar, but a tower of small boxes. Every morning we got to pull out the bottom box and see what mom had put in for that day - chapstick, a dollar, a fun size candy bar, a little Christmas ornament, a note from mom, a cheap pair of earrings, etc. (Although I would not recommend that last one in your case. Maybe Hot Wheels instead?) Maybe you could do something like that. We loved those growing up!
ReplyDeleteI keep deleting your posting thinking it is spam! The name somehow does not say Bethany blog to me!
ReplyDeleteLove the Christmas ideas!
Alas no help for ideas on the "to do" list.
Seems like you are doing just what needs to be done! Raising 4 wonderful sons.
Huggums,
Heidi
I love your goals/traditions. I hope that next year I can do this same thing. This year is already a goner, considering how behind I am and everything still left to do. However, I do love to keep a little of the traditions in place. Christmas Eve has become full of traditions for us because I work, and this is one of the few days I can guaranty will be free. We wake up to a breakfast of crepes, then spend the day baking goodies, which the kids help us to deliver to friends and neighbors. We watch Christmas movies and drink hot cocoa, have a low-key dinner, then we read our Christmas stories by firelight. The kids act out the nativity with their little fisher price set, then we set out cookies for Santa and get the little ones in bed. I realize it won't be so peaceful and homey every year, but it makes you appreciate those years all the more.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a tradition of doing one special holiday outing each year. It's not the same every year. Sometimes it's the Zoolights, or Polar Express, or driving around looking at lights with popcorn and cocoa, or maybe a holiday movie. Whatever it is, you are spending time together as a family and sharing your love of the Christmas season and everything it represents.
One last one - starting around Thanksgiving each year, the kids each pick one Christmas book to read at bedtime, then they each pick a Christmas song to sing as a lullaby. Bedtime is usually a tremendous struggle for me. But reading such sweet books and listening to your children sing along to Up on the Rooftop or Away in a Manger makes you appreciate what you have that much more.
Okay, that's enough. :)