Happy New Year!! I truly hope that this year is starting off well for you.
How was your Christmas and December holidays? I'd love to hear all about what you did and how you felt about everything.
After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ended I reflected on how things went and what I might do differently next year.
Now don't get me wrong. I love Christmas and had a wonderful time with my family. The boys's excitement just makes it all so much more enjoyable. Oh I wish you could have seen how thrilled TJ was opening his stocking. It truly made my day.
What I did really like was talking about things before hand with the boys. We made a list of their favourite Christmas activities and tried to fit them all in. I also did my best to keep things simple and not to over schedule. This all went very well. We also kept the gifting simple but perfect for each child. They were so excited to give each other items they'd specially chosen too.
Another thing I loved was that their toys came alive this year! No creepy Elf on the Shelf for us. It was just for the fun of it. I had heard of Dinovember but we don't own any dinosaurs, so our stuffed animals had all the fun. You'll have to check our the FB posts on our page to see all the funny things the toys did for more than a month!! It was super fun at first, but there were some days that I wasn't in to it any more. Perhaps a shorter time if we do that again.
What got me thinking was that as Christians, Jesus was pushed aside far more than I'd have wanted. We didn't really focus on Santa much, but just the silly toy, fun things to do, excitement over gifts and such took our focus away from the reason we celebrate in the first place.
Unless I made some major changes I'm sure this will happen again next year. As the boys get older I'm sure they'll appreciate and understand more. I mean they do know why we celebrate Christmas and we do try to focus on that, but...
So I was thinking that maybe before Christmas we could do things as usual. Just enjoy all the fun holiday activities and excitement that ensues. But perhaps in the quiet afterwards we could turn towards Jesus and be able to give more attention to him. I know that many families celebrate Epiphany and so we wouldn't be alone in that.
So what are your thoughts?
How do you balance it all??
I think it's good to reflect on things. My hubby and I talked a bit too about how things felt a little different this year. As we get older we recognize that the magic of the season seems more for the kids than us, and that felt oddly noticeable for me this year. Hmmm...
How did your Christmas go?
Anything you'll be changing up this year?
How was your Christmas and December holidays? I'd love to hear all about what you did and how you felt about everything.
After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ended I reflected on how things went and what I might do differently next year.
 |
| This is all I could manage to capture for a Christmas photo |
Now don't get me wrong. I love Christmas and had a wonderful time with my family. The boys's excitement just makes it all so much more enjoyable. Oh I wish you could have seen how thrilled TJ was opening his stocking. It truly made my day.
What I did really like was talking about things before hand with the boys. We made a list of their favourite Christmas activities and tried to fit them all in. I also did my best to keep things simple and not to over schedule. This all went very well. We also kept the gifting simple but perfect for each child. They were so excited to give each other items they'd specially chosen too.
Another thing I loved was that their toys came alive this year! No creepy Elf on the Shelf for us. It was just for the fun of it. I had heard of Dinovember but we don't own any dinosaurs, so our stuffed animals had all the fun. You'll have to check our the FB posts on our page to see all the funny things the toys did for more than a month!! It was super fun at first, but there were some days that I wasn't in to it any more. Perhaps a shorter time if we do that again.
 |
| Toys being silly |
What got me thinking was that as Christians, Jesus was pushed aside far more than I'd have wanted. We didn't really focus on Santa much, but just the silly toy, fun things to do, excitement over gifts and such took our focus away from the reason we celebrate in the first place.
Unless I made some major changes I'm sure this will happen again next year. As the boys get older I'm sure they'll appreciate and understand more. I mean they do know why we celebrate Christmas and we do try to focus on that, but...
 |
| Baking is so much fun |
So what are your thoughts?
How do you balance it all??
I think it's good to reflect on things. My hubby and I talked a bit too about how things felt a little different this year. As we get older we recognize that the magic of the season seems more for the kids than us, and that felt oddly noticeable for me this year. Hmmm...
How did your Christmas go?
Anything you'll be changing up this year?
Comments
Post a Comment