Holidays with Heart
With Christmas right around the corner, I’ve been reflecting a lot about what makes the holiday season special. There used to be a time when I was less concerned about the amount of money I spent on gifts for my daughter and family members. But with the cost of living sky-high, this season, I had to impose a strict gift budget. It’s not a bad thing, in fact, it has made me double down on making Christmas memorable in other ways.
As I’ve talked about in one of my videos, it’s not about the quantity or value of the gifts under the tree that matter. Our children will remember how we made them feel. Did we spend enough quality time with them? Did we show interest in doing activities that they preferred?
If you co-parent, the time spent with your children is even more precious. Try to learn what your child wants to do and work their ideas into the schedule.
When kids are young, the easiest way to connect with them is to play with them. It won’t kill you to pretend you like Barbies for 20 minutes. Your ego will only mildly be bruised by learning how to play the new video game while your teen shows you how it’s done.
I love all the free and low-cost activities around this time of the year. Here are some outdoor and indoor ideas that create a sense of togetherness:
go sledding/tubing, snow shoeing or ice skating;
make hot chocolate ‘to go’ and wander down a festive street;
check out a ‘festival of trees’ or gingerbread competition;
make a playlist of your child’s favorite festive songs and play them while you bake and decorate together;
find a holiday-themed board game, Lego set or puzzle to work on together;
watch Christmas movies;
make paper snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling.
Last year I bought a cheap and funny game for under $10 that had three generations of family members laughing and playing together. It’s a goofy game where you put a set of inflatable reindeer antlers on your head, and two players see who can toss the most rings onto them. In addition, this year, I’m dusting off my old game from high school - Pictionary - because I know my mom will get a hoot out of it. Her ‘artistic abilities’ will get the rest of us howling too. :)
To round out the Christmas break, my daughter and I will play one of our favorite games, ‘Chubby Bunny’ (the only cost is a bag of marshmallows). Because I have a foot bath, I bought some inexpensive face masks so we can have a spa night. I’m wobbly on ice skates and I don’t enjoy it but I purchased a ticket to join in when she goes ice skating with her cousin.
I’m hoping these combined gestures make her see the real meaning of Christmas. Spending time with the ones we love. Wishing you and yours the merriest and brightest this season.
