There it is, looming on the horizon. Thanksgiving is over, (which is fine because it truly a kind of messed up holiday). I rather not go into that too far because there is another beast of a day I am counting down to pass. The dreaded Christmas.
Maybe its selfish, but mostly its disgust. As a kid I loved Christmas, but now as an adult, I cant wait to see it pass. Yes as a parent its my duty to make the day special for my kids, but I cant help but think sometimes that its like feeding poison to someone I love. (Dramatic?) Maybe not. Is it healthy to teach my kids to expect? To ask for something they really dont need? To believe some strange guy is showing up in the middle of the night to fuffill the wish of toys under the Christmas tree?
My answer is I have no idea. So this year I decided to shake it up a little. We are skipping Christmas. Yes, we hung the lights in the yard, and yes, we are decorating a tree. Yes there is a dinner to be had together at the table. Most importantly though, there will be no presents.
Monsterous? Maybe. Brilliant? Possible. Here is the thing, I don't want my children to end up with the notion that any gift is not good enough. I want my children to understand that this holiday season should instead be about the time we spend together, as a family and the joy that brings. Instead of ending up like some of these kids.
Instead of getting, we will be giving our time to the less fortunate. Because a little bit can make a world of difference. The most interesting thing in this experiment is how excited my kids are to help others. Its funny the things we fear in not giving each other enough over the holidays. The truth is, given the chance, we can all be pretty great at giving.
So maybe I am a grinch, but lets remember what the grinch taught us all,
"It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more". (Dr. Suess)
So happy holidays or whatever. Hope you enjoy it, because we will be. Cheers.
Wow. I really enjoyed reading this. I think that it's such a great idea that you're doing this. Not many people get to experience a Christmas or even family time. I think that it's more important that we help the less fortunate since we already have so much to have. We need to appreciate what we have. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteCool, Nicole. Cool. I would love to hear how it goes.
ReplyDeleteI work retail and I hate the holidays
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