This was Christmas morning...
I cleared my voice, deep enough, so my children could hear me from my bedroom. I asked them to hold off until a little later. I was too exhausted to get up and at 5:10 am, it just seemed so unnatural. Plus, my husband didn't even stir a wink during all this.
My children obliged and I hoped to gain another hour of sleep. But instead, I lied there in the dark listening to them talk ever so quietly to each other. They were guessing how many presents were under the tree and what they received. And, if their elves were downstairs because they couldn't find them anywhere.
Christmas eve passed so quickly the night before. I hardly had enough time to relish in that moment before this next moment arrived.
On Christmas Eve, Santa came to our home, after veering off the Norad Santa Tracker, to see my children. They were glued to that computer screen all day, even had their breakfast in front of it, in hopes of catching a glimpse of a familiar town or city.
And, when he finally sauntered his way through our door, ringing his sleigh bells in his hands, my children nearly fell over (he has come to our home every Christmas eve since my daughter was 4 months old. It's a tradition that begun when my brother and I were little). They chatted his ear off and hugged him immensely.
And before I could capture the moment in my brain, he was hopping back into his sleigh...
So, after 10 minutes or so of hearing my children talk in the hallway on Christmas morning, and myself, not being able to go back to sleep, I told them I would be out shortly and we'll get started.
I attempted to wake my husband like a bear being woke after a long winters nap, then I was met with a, "are you serious?" response. I walked through the downstairs, turning on every light, since the sun was no where near making an appearance. My husband reached for the camera, pressed play, and we gave them the all clear.
Holding hands, they skipped down the steps and when they turned the corner, they screeched with excitement and gratitude.
Christmas day is such an elusive day. For children, it's THE day. It's the greatest day of them all. And sadly, it's a blurry mess of waking up, ripping through Christmas themed paper, then the let down of it all being over.
So quickly...
In our home, we do lots of presents for Christmas. Too many, for that matter. But for us, it works. We do not buy anything throughout the whole year, they only receive on Christmas, birthdays, and Easter. With a random book or craft supply here and there. So our Christmas is their chance to stock up on everything they want for the whole year. And the other beauty of that concept is, my children never ask for toys while we're out. We're able to window shop toys and never buy, because mommy isn't the one they expect things from. Santa is. And with the introduction of our kindness elves, my children are spending their time donating, volunteering, and making gifts for others. So when my children are done with the 25 days of giving/acts of kindness, I feel better knowing they understand that giving is just as great as receiving.
In my home, I thread the line of finding the balance between having the magic of Christmas and not making it solely about presents -when they receive lots of presents. And if you asked my daughter, she would tell you that her favorite thing about Christmas is, decorating the house, making cookies, looking at lights, and doing special activities together...
Gifts are no where on the list...
Because when I look back upon my Christmas memories, I don't remember all the presents I received. Instead, I remember all the family that passed through our doors and the love that surrounded our table. I remember being so excited for my grandparents to drive into town and stay with us for the month. Mostly, I remember anticipating the time frame between December 23rd until New Years day, more than Christmas day itself. Because, that's when the gaudy plastic Christmas table cloth rested on our dining room table and people were randomly placed around and coffee was always brewing and cookies and cakes were eaten.
But sadly, my children won't have these similar memories of a house full of people. Hell, I couldn't even get immediate family to stay for 3 hours for Christmas day dinner, before they rushed out the door, heading home for the evening. I was still sitting at my table, eating cake, when everyone was leaving...
It seems, gone are the days of people staying for hours after dessert, talking around the table, until late in the night and actually wanting to be around family and making the effort to carry on traditions for the newest generations. Instead, my children only have myself and my husband making the memories with them and passing on traditions of years past.
No, it won't exactly be the same, but the love will still be there. And I hope that when my children are older, looking back on their Christmas memories, they'll remember all the special things we did together as a family. And, that mama tried to get as much family involved as I could, but in the end, we had just as much fun with only the four of us.
And the magic was just as perfect.
And that, Christmas isn't about what you get or what you give, it's about how much love you have around you. And, how grand your life is, because of the people who make the effort to be there and who want to share all the memories with you. And, as long as you have people around you who love you and care about you, you truly are more rich than any material item can possibly give you...
And knowing that, would be the best future Christmas present, I could ever receive.
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