Christmas Ideas

I can't believe that it's already December. Where did the year go? It is so easy to go through life on auto-pilot and go from one season to the next without even realizing it. I'm trying to change my focus during this Christmas season and remember the reason for the season. It is so easy to get caught up in holiday baking, Christmas shopping, parties, and commitments that we often forget to slow down and enjoy it. I want to teach my kids that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birthday and not just about Santa Claus and presents. Instead of focusing on what I can't buy for loved ones this year I want to focus on the great things I do have. I may not be able to offer a fancy gift this year, but I can offer my heart and reach out to the people I love. Don't get me wrong I love to shop and I love to buy presents for my family, but I just want to shift my focus to the things that don't come from a store. And I'm encouraging other's that I know to shift their focus as well.
Slow down this season and really enjoy it because it will soon be gone. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies with your children, and then deliver them to loved ones or even to the elderly in a nursing home. Start new traditions and honor old ones. Read your children the story of Jesus' birth from the bible. Help your children find ways to give this holiday. Have your children make coupons to do chores, and have them make room for new toys by getting rid of some of the old. Take a walk and look at Christmas lights and then come home and drink hot chocolate and make smores in the fireplace.
Do you remember most of the presents you received as a child? Most people don't remember what they received for Christmas, but most of us do remember the holiday traditions. I encourage every parent to really think about the purchases they make for their children this year. Ask yourself if the presents reflect the values that you want to instill in your children? Ask yourself if the presents really increase the quality of your children's lives? Ask yourself when is enough stuff, enough? Will this toy just end up at the bottom of a toy box? Step outside of the box this Christmas and find presents that will really leave a lasting impression upon your child. Buy tickets to the movies, buy tickets for a concert or play. Try to buy experiences instead of just stuff.
The best thing you can give your children this Christmas season is your love and attention. Kid's would rather have more fun times making Christmas cookies and getting less for Christmas then having tons of new toys from a stressed out and over worked parent.
I will be posting Christmas gift ideas soon, so please check back

Hard Times

Thanksgiving is a time to remember what we are thankful for. Every year my family takes turns on Thanksgiving Day to tell what we are thankful for. Well this year I’m thankful for the hard times because the hard times make the good times so much better. Some of my fondest memories as a child were the ones when my parents were probably struggling financially. It didn’t matter how much stuff we had, as long as we were together. One year my parents, my uncle, my uncle’s wife, and I piled into an old 1960’s Chevy pickup truck and drove an hour and half to my Grandparent’s house. It started snowing heavily on the trip there, and for some reason my Dad pulled the truck over on the side of the interstate, and we all had a big snow ball fight. That memory has lasted far longer than any present that I got that year for Christmas.

Even as an adult some of my fondest memories are the ones that have been free. Some of the happiest times in my marriage have been the times that my husband and I have been struggling financially. I believe there are many reasons that those times seem to be the best. I think that when you are struggling you appreciate the little things so much more, you are connected more with your family members, and you are more creative for your entertainment.

I think that if we stop to think about the positive outcomes of the current recession it would be that it served to teach us something. I think that it is so easy to become a slave to our possessions. I believe that we have lived in a society that for so long has wanted to keep up with the Joneses. Well now the Joneses are broke too! It is time to find different role models, and get back to simpler times. It is time to ask ourselves what we really value. I can tell you from my own experience that I would rather my Dad have worked less hours and spent more time with me than to have nice new toys and clothes. We work so hard to provide for our children, to give them the newest stuff, to make sure they have every advantage, but if we fail to really be present in their lives then we have done them a far greater injustice. We can be in the same room with our children and yet still not be present with them, and children know the difference.

So this year, I’m thankful for the times of struggle because they have served to teach me some very valuable lessons. I’m thankful for my car that does not run very well because at least I have a car, I’m thankful for my husband who is messy because I have a wonderful man who loves me, I’m thankful that my kids drive me crazy sometimes because it means that I have kids, I’m thankful for waking up early because it means that I have a reason to get out of bed, I’m thankful for getting stuck in traffic because it may have saved my life, I’m thankful for hateful people because at least I don’t have to be that way, I’m thankful for my aches and pains because it means I’m alive, and I’m even thankful that I’m an over worked and under paid; cook, maid, referee, and chauffer because it means that I’m a Mom and a wife. It means that my paychecks come in the form of hugs and kisses from my kids, and being proud of my kid’s successes because I helped them to become successful. My reward is knowing that I’m helping to shape and mold these beautiful gifts from God.