Monday, November 9, 2009
true meaning of Christmas how to start new traditions?
Grrr! It is that time of year again you know peace, joy happiness, budget issues. Ever since we had Wesley I find myself giving so much thought to the concept of the "true meaning" of Christmas. I didn't mean to put "true Meaning" in quotes as if it wasn't "true" I just used them for emphasis. Sorry for the verbal diarrhea. ANYWAY. I really struggle with what Christmas is becoming and maybe always has been. I remember as a child looking forward to Christmas. It truly is a magical time of year. Even though we didn't believe in (shield your children's eyes...) Santa I still would lay in bed at night wishing more than anything that he really was real and that something truly magical and bigger then my everyday world happened on that one special night. Looking back I realize that what made it truly special for me was that my Dad took off work. For the whole Christmas Holiday through to New Years he was home. To top it off he wasn't just "home" he was present. We would play games, go sledding, work on the family Christmas puzzle, go to the movies, and well just be...together...as a family. But one thing that sticks out in my mind is the disappointment I would feel wash over me on Christmas morning after all of the presents had been opened. I was disappointed because I didn't get what I wanted. I was just disappointed because a day I had built up with so much anticipation was over in just 30 short minutes. Pondering this on top of the "true Meaning of Christmas" has left me contemplating the Irony...the worldly Holiday leaves us with such a feeling of Sadness and emptiness where as the true meaning which gets lost and tossed out with the old wrapping paper, leaves us with lasting hope. Christmas morning is a symbol of hope and hope for better things yet to come. Christmas is the morning where things are just started to get exciting not reaching the excitement peak and plummeting before the breakfast casserole has even been consumed.
This is where you come in....
I really want to start some traditions with Wesley and Liam that leaves them truly understanding the hope that begins on Christmas morning with gifts being a side note. (just wishful thinking?)
I also want them to get to experience the joy and the magical time of year..Can they have both?
I was thinking about us moving gift opening to New years morning, or a few days after Christmas. Another idea I had was to have Liam and Wes get only three gifts, just as the wise men brought Jesus(I know years later but we can pretend Jesus was 3 and it was on Christmas morning right?) I need some ideas...christmas is just around the corner:)
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5 comments:
We do the 3 gifts on christmas morning. Mostly. Several years ago we decided to spend more on their birthdays. You know make it about them. and less on Christmas. You know more about Christ and family.
We get limited gifts....and they are general gifts - for all of our 7 (soon to be 8 ) children to share. Things like books, movies, games, puzzles, outdoor play things, lincoln logs, legos, etc. That way it isn't "theirs" it is "ours".
We limit it! They DO NOT make a list for us to buy- they get what we buy and have always enjoyed the gifts.
We open them throughout advent- and we don't open any on Christmas. Each day the we actually open a gift we only open 1 at a time. That way they appreciate that gift. Not waiting to see who gets what next......Our kids take turns opening them.
We make a big deal about our manger scenes - reading scripture throughout advent and adding different people to the "scenes". There is a kit called- What Jesus really wants for Christmas which is perfect for younger kids.
We have also done "25 prophesies" or "25 characteristics" of Christ" etc. during December.
We have never done Santa- but we have collected books about who the real St. Nich is and the legend of the tree, legend of the Christmas stocking, etc. Those are great!
(In our minds santa is only for those who can afford it anyway, as well as we build him up to be a god- just our opinion)
Love to hear others ideas too. :)
We've never done the Santa thing either. But we do have many gifts on Christmas and I always feel the after Christmas blues. We need to re-evaluate how to make it more about Christ and less about the presents. Celebrating our Lord is the way I want my kids to remember their childhood Christmas. These are some great thoughts and traditions.
I've been thinking about all this too. This will be our first Christmas with our daughter, and we want her to grow up knowing Christmas for it's true meaning. Last year when it was just my husband and I we opened our presents two days before Christmas! We were stuck at home because of icy roads.. It ended up being really nice because we had that out of the way and it wasn't about presents on Christmas day.
We do a really slow Christmas day so it's more about spending time together and not tearing through presents. We open stockings before breakfast (and we actually wrap every single thing in the stockings so it takes a while to open- and uses up all the scraps of paper) and then have a big breakfast- after we've gone to pick up the grannies. Then we take turns opening packages. But the highlight is doing something all together afterward. Either a game someone was given, or playing outside. I love having a cozy lazy day enjoying everybody's company, I just love Christmas!
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