Christmas is a special time of year for children. When they’re grown, many of the times they’ll remember most about their childhoods will come from the holidays. Will your children remember their holidays as being happy and carefree or as stressful times when everyone was on edge?
It’s easy to get caught up in things that don’t matter during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I know, I’ve “been there and done that” when my older children were small and I was a young inexperienced mother. Now I’m older, and thank goodness I’m a little wiser. These days I find myself relaxing more and really enjoying our times together during holidays. As the saying goes, “If momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy!” Isn’t that so true? Mothers can really set the tone for family dynamics.
Over the years I’ve learned a few strategies for keeping myself calm and at ease so that I’m setting a positive tone for my own family’s dynamics during the holidays. One thing I’ve learned to do is to plan well in advance so that I’m not shopping at the last minute for gifts, frantically decorating, or rushing out to the store to gather items for our holiday feast.
Another strategy I’ve learned is to focus on the people in my life and not the things in my life. Where I used to worry if the house was “just so”, I now try to focus on making my family members feel welcome, engaging in meaningful conversations, playing games, or making sure we do the various tasks I know need to be done together.
Where I used to try and be “Super Mom” and do it all myself, I now divvy up the work (wrapping gifts, preparing food, cleaning up, etc.) so that everyone plays a functioning role in our family unit. What’s wonderful is that we have grown closer as a family since I’ve replaced my solo act with this teamwork approach to the holidays.
After our traditional Christmas morning waffle breakfast, I love hearing the kids bantering as they do the dishes or watching the big kids teach the younger ones how to play their favorite games on Christmas Eve. I’ve also found my children learn a lot about cooking when they’re assigned a dish to prepare, but more importantly they learn they are a valued member of our family because they have real responsibilities to the larger whole.
So don’t forget to plan ahead for the holidays, focus on people (not things), and relax knowing you don’t have to do it all by yourself! In doing so you’ll be building happy memories of the holidays for you and your children that will carry you through the years.
In closing, I’d like to wish all of my Parent Professor blog followers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! My business partner, Kelli Gebbia, and I feel really blessed this year to have successfully launched our company, Workshops-in-a-Box. There’s no greater gift to either one of us than to hear positive comments from educators and parents like you who appreciate what we’re doing. Kelli and I experience genuine joy when we see children having so much fun during our workshops! So thank you for supporting us and know we appreciate what you’re doing for children too. We count the opportunity to work with great teachers and parents like you as one of our greatest gifts.
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