Current Project: Romantic Suspense
Status: bit by bit
I can't write about writing this week. Too much holiday stuff going on. My writing has slowed recently because I have food on the brain. It's normal for this time of year. I start craving turkey dinners with all the accompaniments and cookies. Lots of cookies. Frosted sugar cookies in the shape of snowmen, thick and chewy oatmeal cookies with cranberries and white chocolate chips, sharp ginger cookies rolled in chunky sugar, and lemon bars dusted with powdered sugar. *sigh*
The kids have a list of holiday traditions they don't want to skip. Several cookie recipes of course, Chex mix, the Christmas tree farm with animals to pet, a trip to pick out their 2009 ornaments, toy shopping for Channel 8's toy drive, gold paint hand prints on the tree skirt which I label with names and the year, decorating gingerbread houses, decorating their own little trees in their bedrooms, a new box of Christmas crafts from Oriental Trading, and a trip to The Dollar Tree where I let them choose gifts for each other and family.
I once read in a parenting magazine that it is important to make a big deal out of the holidays for kids. I repeat this mantra in my head several times a year. At Easter when I'm cleaning up egg dye, on the Fourth of July when my youngest is moaning about sore feet from walking to the parade, and of course at Christmas when I'm wrestling with yards and yards of garland and lights. Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands, forget the traditions, and pour a stiff drink.
But all the hassle and mess has a purpose. My chest gets tight as I watch them decorate the tree and with each ornament they pull out of the box someone exclaims, "Remember this one?!" I fight to keep my eyes from watering as I watch them smile as they dump the new toys they chose into the donation bin. They're good kids and I pray I'm raising them right. I hope they cherish these years and create traditions with their own children in memory of their childhood.
Time to share traditions. Doesn't have to be Christmas, any holiday will do. And what do you fondly remember from your childhood holidays?
6 comments:
I agree traditions and that feeling of family togetherness are what guide children into productive well-rounded adults.
Traditions...Baking cookies and giving platters of goodies to friends and neighbors. Opening presents Christmas morning. Filling stockings for everyone who is at the house. (This is a tradition my oldest daughter takes very seriously)Wrapping presents either at the fire department or like today I'm wrapping at Walmart for the "Shop with a Cop" program for underprivileged kids.
Fun post, Kendra!
Love the picture.
I think it's neat you're establishing so many traditions. We had ours, too, and they read like everyone else with the possible exception of the year my dh gave the yearly pocket change gathered in a huge jar to the kids and they decided to give it to a sidewalk Santa. I'll long remember the look on that guy's face when those two kids dumped fifty dollars worth of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters into his kettle.
I like the way you're involving your children in the holidays. Having everything done for you is not very rewarding -- doing things for yourself and for others is far more important to a kid. I don't know why we underestimate their abilities.
Paty, I like the idea of assigning the stockings to the kids to fill. I'll keep that in mind for next year. One less chore for me.
Alice, my husband keeps a change jar, too. The kids raid it when they need quarters. I'll ask them if they'd like to dump it in the kettle.
"Traditions" in my household seem to constantly be changing. When my kids were younger, I think the one tradition they enjoyed the most was one borne out of frustration for me. From early December, they wheedled to open "just one present." Finally, I filled their stockings with 25 inexpensive presents and, starting December 1, they could open one every day until Christmas. I quit doing this a year or two after they graduated from high school, and they seemed disappointed.
Our other traditions have been flexible as my kids have grown up and had families of their own, and moved in and out of my house, and shared the holidays with friends or scheduled time with the grandkids to go to other family celebrations.
The one thing I do like to do is gather my kids and grandkids in one place to exchange and open presents. The day and place changes, but it's nice to have the whole crew together for at least a little while.
Yummy photo, Kendra!
I love your traditions, Kendra. Thanks for sharing. Your kids will thank you and be so happy they grew up with traditions and a mom who made holidays special for them.
When I was a kid we didn't celebrate anything because of some stupid ass religion thing. I hated it. Whenever my class at school did holiday stuff, I had to go to the library and sit alone. It was horrible. And so embarrassing. And lasted for all of my grammar school years.
I never got to wake up to a Christmas morning, have a Christmas tree, nothing as a child. No birthdays, Easter, Halloween. Zip. Then, my parents decided that they didn't believe that religion anymore and all of a sudden we started celebrating holidays and birthdays when I was around 12. It was a shock to my system for sure. Who knows, maybe this is why I'm so effed up as an adult. LOL
Anyway, I promised myself, as a little girl, that when I grew up I was going to celebrate EVERY holiday and my kids would always have birthdays celebrated too. I didn't want them to suffer like I did. I think this is one thing I'll never forgive my parents for, depriving me of such sweet memories of Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, etc. It sucked. So, as an adult I've tried to create things for us as much as I can think of to do. This stuff doesn't come naturally to me because I had NO examples as a child. I just know that my kids are NOT missing out and that holidays and birthdays are a huge deal for me, just like a kid, because I'm still trying to make up for all those lost years.
Some of the traditions we do now, off the top of my head, in no particular order...
1. Bake 50 bazillion different goodies and treats with my MIL to fill goodie trays to give away to friends and leave on doorsteps of unsuspecting acquaintances while we ring the doorbell and run. (My mom-in-law is the one who has taught me about holidays and what to do)
2. Drive around looking at Christmas lights and decorated yards.
3. Christmas Eve at the in-laws where we eat the same foods each year and pig out. It's just beautiful at their house and it feels like something you see on a made-for-TV Christmas movie. It's so awesome.
4. Christmas morning at home with a stocking for each kid filled to bursting so heavy that it has to be placed on the floor in front of the fireplace instead of hanging on its hanger.
5. Trying to get the kids to stay in bed until 8:00 a.m. but failing each year. LOL
6. Unwrapping presents on Christmas Day and having a Christmas dinner with friends or relatives or both.
7. Start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving!! And I don't do it just to drive my kids crazy, but they may think so. ;)
8. Watch Elf and A Christmas Story as a family.
9. Argue with DH about when we should actually go shopping for presents because I HATE waiting until 2 days before Christmas as per his usual time; he's a slacker about it. (this year I'm winning the argument and we're going tomorrow evening! Woot!)
10. Clean out closets and give stuff to Salvation Army.
Anyway, I can't think of anything else right now. But, holidays are very important to me and I love having traditions and looking forward to them each month that there's something to celebrate. Christmas and Halloween are my favorites. Well, aside from my birthday. I don't like getting older, but I love it when my DH dotes on me for being born. *grin*
Wow, that was long. Sorry. *blush*
Mom, I uphold the 8:00 am thing, but the boys don't. Curse them! Thanks for making such nice Christmases for me. ^_^ *hugs*
I love Christmas. A tradition from my younger years was playing with my Breyer horses and Gramma's sleighs. I'd hitch 'em up with my girl cousin and we'd play like crazy. We've always played games with little animals, decorating their houses and making scarves and stuff for them, creating little villages. Fun times. It sucks to be an adult now. LOL
Another tradition of our family is opening 1 present on Christmas Eve, and it's usually of the PJ's, blanket, or slippers persuasion of gift. Cozy things. We used to do a nativity skit, too, when I was about 11 and younger. It was great. I think... ;)
A tradition of the heart is to watch. Just soak it all in. Let your lungs fill with pine and peppermint and cinnamon until your breath is sweet from it.
I love to go outside where it's cold and see the lights gleam at night, small halos or blobs on silk. I love the smell of moisture and bite of winter. And I listen. The deep tranquility of trees sleeping and growth slowed as earth gives pause to reflect. Then I think about Jesus. And I know it's Christmas.
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