I haven't gotten around to decorating yet and it's almost December. Ack! Must get crackin'!! I have been thinking about Christmas gifts and traditions quite a bit this week, though, and I am trying to come up with some to be unique for my family.One idea about presents that I like is this:
something you want
something you need
something to wear and
something to read
I like that idea. Only four gifts is totally manageable now and if I ever get the four kid family I want (an older son, a boy the same age as Naomi so I can have twins and an infant girl--not kidding!!) keeping it limited to sixteen gifts it will keep me from going broke at the holiday season--not to mention my kids will know what to expect. I will do stockings as well with fruit, nuts, candy, maybe small toys.
I also read how a lot of people give their kids new pajamas which they wear to bed on Xmas eve. I like that idea as well, though she already has about 8 pairs of pajamas right now so that doesn't make sense. Maybe the Xmas eve gift will be given in the morning and will be the fancy dress to wear to church. Not sure.
I want to do some baking with her and make a gingerbread house. I want to hang all sorts of decorations, have an Open House and go caroling. I want to introduce her to candy canes. I also want to do some crafts and read some books about the Christmas story and about Santa. She has no idea, of course, about any of this but it will be fun for me. Truth to tell, the whole Santa thing drives me crazy.. the whole deception piece and my recollection of being absolutely crestfallen when I found out the truth (from a classmate in Kindergarten in early December.. so sad! I only got about 2 Christmases of understanding what was going on and believing) makes me question whether or not to do it. I guess I will (and get a photo with him), but it bothers me so much more than the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Maybe Santa will only do the stockings and no gifts? Someone please tell me how you handle Santa in your households and what do you do about gifts?
OK, gotta run! I want to at least pull out the decorations so I can start tomorrow.
p.s. I made it through NaBloPoMo! So proud of myself and love all the memories that I recorded! I am inspired to post more often. Man, this is going to make a great book!
6 comments:
I give Selam two gifts--a special book to read on Christmas eve, and a surprise(toy) on Christmas day. Santa gives her one gift, and fills the stockings. If I get creative and add another gift, it'd be from me. I grew up with only one gift from Santa and I want to keep it that way.
I don't do pictures with Santa or even talk about him much until shortly before the big day because it's just too much for her to handle. She gets little doses in videos and from friends, but we keep it solely religious/festive at home until about a week before the holiday. That said, we're going to a party on Saturday where Santa will be present, so maybe I'll have to alter that a bit. Luckily, there will be no Santa stuff in school this year.
I believed in Santa until I was 9 years old. My nieces are 11 and 13 and have not yet admitted that they know the truth (though I believe they have for some time).
Tell you daughter the truth from the start. Let her know what Christmas is about. Let her know who buys the gifts and the reason for them. I did it with my children when they were young. I told them I want you to be able to tell me the truth about everything and I told them I will do the same with them. I was not going to let some made up man get credit for my hard work. If you lie to her what make you think she won't do the same with you? My girls are now 18 and 14 and we have the best open relationship and can talk about anything. I am not saying she will never lie, but at least she will know the truth and how important it is to you. When they were little I would set some toys out under the tree after they went to sleep and left some wrapped up to open after they played with some of the opened things first. Also we would pray and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before playing started. So come up with what works best for you and your baby. Have a blessed Christmas and New Year. I love your blog. I am looking to adopt from Ethiopia soon if they are still allowing singles at that time. God Bless
I'm thinking about holiday traditions too! I've also heard a version of the gift thing as "one thing to wear, one thing to read, one thing to play with" and might go with that. And for the first time ever in my life, I am not going to spend Christmas day with my family of origin - I'm going to keep it just Elfe and me, for this year at least. I've got a whole post on this brewing too, so I won't say more in your comments section!
Congrats on making it through NaBloPoMo!
I'm so excited for you and Almi. What a wonderful time of year. Wouldn't it be fun to get a child safe button to turn on the Christmas lights each night together. I can imagine a todler would enjoy that.
Happy Holidays,
Megan
Laura-
I love the holidays.
I wish I could only buy 4 gifts for a child. I tend to go overboard with the gift giving as you can tell from the box that I sent you.
As a child; I received Xmas pj's and an outfit to wear during the day as well as my gifts from Santa. LOL
Enjoy your holiday...
Sen :)
I have a problem with the deception aspect, too. Two of my earliest memories are the first time I knew I'd been lied to and the first time I told a lie. My daughter and I are both truth-seekers. Last year when my daughter was 3, we were driving in the car and chatting about the holidays. She wanted to know how Santa got back out of the house through the chimney. I hadn't told any outright lies to her, and didn't want to. I took a deep breath and said, "some people believe Santa is real and others believe he is pretend. What do you think?" She gave me the most perfect answer imaginable: "Let's pretend he's real." I felt like she wanted the fantasy, but was admitting that we both knew we'd be pretending. One caveat -- we're actually Jewish, so perhaps the weight of this issue isn't as heavy for me as for you.
One thing that I go back and forth on is not wanting her to ruin it for other small children with parents who feel strongly about it. I feel the same way about answering, "how did the baby get IN there." I feel like I could tell my child, but don't want her spreading that information to children whose parents feel differently.
Stefanie
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