How did it happen again? How did we manage it? More importantly, how can we make sure it doesn't happen again?After a full 25 days in December, each of which should be honoring the memory of the birth of our dear Savior, we managed to arrive at Christmas day almost completely oblivious to the true celebration that is Christmas. It hit me like a slap in the face this year as the constant chorus from my children was: "Aren't there anymore presents?" Now mind you, my kids have three Christmases; one with my family, one with our family, and one with Sean's family. They get tons of presents, too many, if you ask me. It broke my heart to hear them say: "Is that it?" in disgust after each party. Like Scrooge talking to the Ghost of Christmas Past, I do not want to dwell on that scene any longer.
So, I have been thinking. How can I ensure that we do not have a repeat of this year? I think my deepest concern is not only that my children do not realize how lucky they are (think of all of the children without food and heat this Christmas), but that Christ was not at the core of our celebrations. In that vane, here are the resolutions I am considering for Christmas 2009:
:: A completely homemade Christmas - all gifts will be created by hand - starting in January so as to be finished by November, causing my children to actually think about what they are giving.
:: A deep and serious research project of sacred Christmas traditions to be enjoyed throughout the entire month of December.
:: Create an advent calendar with a scripture/story related to the Nativity to be read each day leading up to Christmas.
:: Having my older child/ren (Djeryd and maybe Erik) participate in serving the needy - face-to-face, hands-on.
:: Concentrating on some REALLY good lessons for Family Night (ours are usually thrown together 5 minutes before we need to start) for the month of December (the whole year, actually, but this is not my New year's Resolution List - but I digress).
We will give that a try and see what comes of it. As a closing thought, I have an Easter to share. A couple of years ago, we spent the week preceding Easter discussing the events of Christ's life for the week leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. It was simple with a new picture hung on the wall each day. We did this at dinner time every day. The spirit in our home that week was incredible. I don't think we have experienced anything like that since. I was lazy last Easter and neglected our new tradition. Easter felt empty. That was the word that kept going through my head yesterday: Christmas feels empty. We missed it - the whole point of the whole season was lost on me and my family because we did not take the time to celebrate and embrace and remember the reason we have Christmas - our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope we don't miss it again.
If any of you have ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them.
Merry Christmas,
MyLiege
1 comment:
Even though Anna might be too small to provide much physical labor in service to others, I think she'd be a wonderful addition to pretty much any Christmas service. Who doesn't love the sweet smile of a well-loved little girl? :o)
Here's the post that inspired us to limit our children to three gifts (plus a stocking) this year. The grandparents still managed to sneak a couple of small things in, but that's something we decided to tackle next year.
We had a simple Christmas--two family gifts (a chess/checkers set and a set of five handmade tops for competitions), and one gift for each of the children. It worked out really, really well. The boys scored nice Lego sets and the girls received art supplies. Each and every last one of those things has been used and loved, and we had a great Christmas.
I also want to do a 100% hand-made Christmas next year. Hopefully there won't be too much rebellion, as I'm afraid I can't make Legos! lol
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