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I'm slowly putting up our Christmas decorations. I actually added a bit to the mantle, but haven't taken a picture yet. Grandma Judy gave us a bunch of decorations; otherwise it would just be a tree and stockings for us. (We really, really pared down when we moved from Boston. Like half of our possessions are gone.)
A friend has offered us a fresh-cut tree (they won't be using theirs this year due to a rather curious 13 month-old!) I'm so excited! Once I get that, I'll be able to finish decorating.
Yesterday, driving up to Puyallup to visit some fabric and thrift stores, I had a bit of time to think, as Bug was half-asleep. I was rather depressed, and being quite negative to myself, which led me to wonder if I'm a good mom. Yes, I *know* I am, but sometimes it's hard to remember that as my child is schlepped in the car all afternoon, or throwing tantrums constantly, or hasn't eaten a single fresh vegetable or fruit since I made all his baby food. Welcome to the world of two year-olds, I suppose.
Anyway, after stopping at Starbucks for a much needed mocha, sketch book, and toy truck break, I was feeling much better about my role as a mom! Yey Starbucks!
My point--such that it is--is that all this self-reflection led me to think about what made my childhood holidays so special. I remember picking out our Christmas trees, the church pageant, hot cocoa (and coffee when I was older) with candy canes, the giant open house my dad's family held every year, complete with an awesome buffet, and of course presents, and falling asleep near the Christmas tree waiting for Santa to come (or maybe just trying to prolong the magical feeling once I was older.) And I want to recreate that magical feeling for my son, but I'm stuck for ideas. Do you have a favorite holiday tradition (or traditions) that I could try to incorporate into our holiday celebrations?
I hope all of you are having a wonderful, magical holiday season!
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5 comments:
I have those moments too. Amelie and Hanna rarely eat fruit and vegetable and I beat myself up about it all the time.
And I also want to make sure they have the same fantastic memories of Christmas that I have. But I think they are still a little young for all of the traditions. So I have chosen two this year to do with them. We bake a number of CHristmas cookies each year. I have given Amelie a set of cookie cutters all of her own and explained to her what we are going to do. Next week we will start baking.
THe other - I have found a family friendly Christmas Service on the afternoon of the 24th. We will all go there as a family and then home to bed to wait for Father Christmas.
Thanks Natasha! It's always nice to know others are going through the same thing!
Great ideas! I was hoping to have Bug help me bake cookies this year!
I cannot remember anything particularly special growing up that just makes my heart jump up and down screaming like Buddy the Elf. However, what does wamr my heart is being with my grandma on Christmas. She was my only grandparent growing up that I had interaction with, and she was like my best friend.
Another thing I remember fondly is sleeping under our Christmas tree, until all the presents got under it. My cat and I would curl around under it and I would be in the corner between the wall and the couch, as if I couldn't be seen.
I loved catching the Tv specials, but that didn't happen every year. However, we are sure that our kids know they're coming on and if they want to see them they can. This week we've sat down and seen "Rudolph ... " and "Santa Claus comes to town" together. They seen to like "Rudolph and the Island of misfit toys" better ;)
They already have a leg up on Christmas events. They are being raised in church, so we have the Christmas play, and the Cantada that we go to. We also have a Festival of Lights that is near us. We went for the first time last year and I believe we'll go again this year :)
Wendy
My Blog
What my parents always did (and now I do for my daughter, who is 7) is put a Santa themed snowglobe in the house. They told us kids that Santa could see us through the snowglobe, and as a child, I was so fascinated by the idea. It made Christmas so much more exciting, I always insisted it was the first decoration put out.
I believe my darling little dear is just as fascinated. She sits for hours talking to Santa via her globe.
I totally forgot about seeing Zoolights every year. We're actually going tomorrow.
Thanks for all the great ideas!
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