Make Christmas Memories

Q. How can I make Christmas more memorable for the children. I have wonderful childhood memories and would like my children to have special memories too……….Esther. M

A: My friends’ four year old grandson plaintively asked at bedtime one night, “Grandma, is this tree going to be all finished when I get up in the morning?” She didn’t know how much he wanted to be a part of her Christmas decorating adventure until he asked. So be on the lookout for opportunities to include your children, no matter what their age. Very few of the gifts they receive will be remembered as much as the loving, caring interactions with you and the rest of the family. Whether it is decorating the tree, the yard, a wreath, a cookie or making gift wrap for the presents, there are hundreds of ways to let them have a part.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are your opportunity to instill the wonder of the season and foster a generous spirit. When you and your child labor over cookies, breads or pies they learn about nurturing both physically and emotionally. When the child is included in making and/or choosing a gift for a beloved relative or friend they begin to think about the needs of others, gradually making that shift from the narcissistic self to a healthy awareness of others.

Sometimes it’s the silly things that we remember, so have fun and don't work too hard at it. When our children were growing up they were not given high sugar cereals for breakfast, so for Christmas we would wrap up a dozen or more ’sugar’ cereals. The kids would laugh and trade and barter over the boxes for days. It made a huge pile of ’presents’ under the tree. Each year they would be examining the wrapped boxes days ahead of time to guess which ones they would be getting.

Some simple things to do: Make a garland with ribbons and pretzels—tie pretzels to each other with ribbons in between. Make your own gift tags from recycled cards or origami paper. Decorate your own Christmas stockings and add names. Add 5mm faceted glass beads and small iridescent beads to polystyrene balls 4.5cm with long steel pins, add a ribbon and hang on tree. Make cookies from premade dough, decorate and bake.

So make some stuff, do what comes naturally to you, don’t drive yourself crazy, get less not more gifts and ENJOY.