I promised myself that this year Christmas would be a scaled back one. And I more than impressed myself by delivering just that. Even in the end I could feel myself succumbing to the materialism of Christmas and falling victim to the last minute television commercials telling me that I "needed this" and my children "needed that". But I stood firm in the decision we made as a family, and I am completely and totally satisfied with our Christmas holiday this year.
Each of the three Things received one gift from Santa and one gift each from us. They each had a modest stocking, and then the presents they received from family members. Any adult who received a gift from me opened something home-made. We kept the tree simple, the meals simple, and tried to keep the festivities focused on family and spending time together.
I had been a little bit worried about spending our first Christmas alone, with no extended family around, but it actually ended up being a blessing in disguise. The entire holiday was relaxed, stress-free, fun . . . and did I mention, RELAXED? There were no time pressures, no fighting, no bickering, no traveling in poor weather - just lots of time at home enjoying each other's company without the regular stresses that sometimes plague our ordinarily busy schedules.
We played Wii, we played board games, we read books, we danced, we ate cookies and cake, we drank rum and eggnog (okay, only the adults partook in that activity), and we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore. We went to Christmas morning mass and celebrated the birth of Christ and all the beauty that surrounds it. I went to bed each night without a care in the world.
Of course, one of the highlights of the whole season was seeing the joy on the Things' faces when they opened their gifts from Santa (joy I was not very good at capturing in photos).
Thing 1 one with a real GI Joe toy (he received a whole set).
Thing 2 mastering his Leapster 2 early on in the day.
Thing 3 snuggling her new Baby Stella.
Happy Holidays to all my family, friends and loyal readers. Here's hoping this Christmas season has been as good to you as it has been to us.
54 and Salty to the Core
4 weeks ago
9 comments:
What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas with your family! The excitement of visiting or visitors is also fun, but there is nothing like a relaxed time to spend thoroughly devoting your time to your small children and immediate family.
Now...how will your spend New Year's?
It sounds like the scaled back way is SO much better and more relaxing. Which is what we did as well.
Happy Holidays!
Sounds like you had the perfect Christmas! So pleased things went so well and you all enjoyed relaxing and being together!
See you soon!
What a delightful holiday! We too scaled back this year and feel so much better for it. Christmas day had it's usual craziness because I host dinner and an open door to anyone who wants to come, but outside of that we followed our rules and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. So now...will New Year's be so quiet?
That is the way to do it. I would like to do it like that next year, when we aren't sick. :-)
We scaled back this year also, but I'd like to go even further next year. A Christmas minus the raging consumerism and sense of entitlement is a huge gift in itself.
That sounds like you had a great day/holiday! How did you handle the kids asking (if they did...) for more than one toy/present? Did you pick and choose and tell them they might get it? My 2 are too young yet and I plan on being very minimal. I'm just curious how people handle the requests!
Happy holidays!
Why, WHY didn't you write this BEFORE I went hog wild? I absolutely love your sentiments and vow to follow your sage advice next year. We "planned" a minimalist Christmas but failed miserably. :( Well done girlfriend. Can't you remind me of this next year please?? ;)
Oh what a wonderful Christmas. We too were a little more scaled back this year, although I don't think the adults heard us. And we had a great Christmas too, plenty of treats and rum&egg nog were to be had. And Apple got the same Baby Stella from her Auntie. How cute.
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