Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my favorite times of the year — not because of the material element that is associated with the holidays, but because of things of substance such as creating traditions and spending time with the ones you love.
The holiday season for me is a time when I continue to celebrate Christ as well as reflect on my childhood and all the great, innocent things that came along with being a kid. One Christmas in particular really stands out in my mind. I must have been around 5 or 6 years old and I came up with the grand idea that my older brother, sister and I sleep together in our mom’s bed on Christmas Eve.
“Whoever wakes up first has to wake up the other two!” I remember saying to my siblings that night.
Before we went to bed, I recall taking one last look at all the gifts under the tree and the three of us looking out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer in the night sky.
Eventually, we went to sleep and because I’ve always been the more impatient one of our trio, I was the first to rise and eagerly woke Chad and Wendy up. Unfortunately for us, our mom shooed us back upstairs, saying it was too early and Santa hadn’t come to our home yet. After going to sleep, waking up and attempting to go downstairs, we were finally successful on the third try.
When we rushed downstairs there were the original gifts under the tree as well as what looked like a toy store. Our mom (I mean Santa) had assembled toys, games, clothing, books…everything, as if it were on display at a store. Remembering the joy of that Christmas and others like it continues to bring a big smile to my face.
While it was great to receive gifts, I really enjoyed the things that led up to Christmas…going to select a real tree and adorning it with all the colorful ornaments, decorating the house, and helping to wrap gifts. The actual element of surprise and anticipation of what was to come was also really exciting.
I have friends who tell me that when they were younger, their parents didn’t put up a tree and rather than wrap gifts for the children to open on Christmas, their parents would instead take the kids shopping with them so as children, my friends saw everything they were getting for Christmas. My friends often tell me how in a way, those experiences forced them to grow up faster.
While parents can do as they please with their own children, I encourage them to consider the innocence of a child and how that period of time is so short. My mother would often say, “You have the rest of your life to be grown, enjoy being a child.” That simple yet relatively profound statement says it all. Parents, I know life can be hard and things are incredibly challenging, but when at all possible, try not to overwhelm your children with things that they shouldn’t be worried about or shed them of the innocent elements of childhood.
I know some parents feel pressure to buy their children everything in the world for Christmas, but that’s probably not the smartest thing to do this year. We’re currently in tough economic times, so spending an exorbitant amount of money on gifts isn’t the most logical thing to do (unless you can really afford it). Instead focus on love, hope, and peace and joy this holiday season.
Believe it or not, kids and teenagers are more willing to spend time with their parents than most might think. I’ve spoken with a lot of students who feel their parents try to overcompensate with gifts. The thing that most of the kids complained about was not spending enough quality time with their parents — either simply hanging out or doing something fun as a family.
As great as the gift-giving aspect of Christmas is, that’s not the actual reason for the season and we shouldn’t get caught up in it. Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ. It’s important that we not only remember Christ’s birth, but that we also internalize what the significance of his birth means to our own lives.
