Christmas Spirit everywhere
As most of you may know, we’re completely Christmas mad in my house! It’s totally our favourite time of year. In fact, everyone at International Elf Service is bonkers about the Christmas season. We love the excitement, the Advent and Christmas countdown, the family Christmas traditions, the letters to and from Father Christmas, lights, the fun and games, the nativity play (and its costumes!), the family time, the hope for wishes coming true, the being together, the good deeds, the tingling energy, the neighbours popping round, the planned (and unplanned!) parties, and that warm and fuzzy feeling of cosiness that’s specific to Christmas Eve (if you know, you know!). And as parents, we all want our children’s Christmas to be the best every year and the most memorable they’ve ever had – one that’s full of Christmas Spirit everywhere. But we also know it’s not always easy to manage, and Christmas can sometimes be a difficult time for all sorts of reasons.
So you may be interested (and pleasantly surprised!) to hear what children really love about the festive season and what they feel is the best thing about Christmas. It may not be what you imagine …
A Christmas surprise
As a child I remember feeling beside myself with excitement when it was NEARLY the day before Christmas Eve but not quite! For me, Christmas Eve was The Moment when everyone was truly in the zone of maximum Christmassyness. It wasn’t about the presents, it was more about the spirit of Christmas, the family togetherness and the familiarity of wonderful Christmas traditions. I feel extremely fortunate to have always had a lovely experience and, naturally, I’ve passed all these things I love about Christmas on to my kids.
So when they were 8 and 7 year olds (at the height of ‘believing age’), I was very curious to know what they thought was the most important part of Christmas for them. This is what they said …
‘Putting up the Christmas Tree and decorating it’
‘Switching on the Christmas music every morning’
‘Opening the Advent Calendar’
‘Snuggling up together under a blanket by the fire’
‘Opening our presents!’
‘Reading Christmas Elf letters from Elfie’
‘All the yummy Christmas food!’
‘Christmas baking and cooking treats together’
‘Christmas surprises’
‘Watching films together on the sofa with the lights off’
‘Decorating the Christmas cake’
‘Christmas lights around the town’
‘Choosing a new Christmas decoration for the Christmas tree’
‘Doing Christmas crafts and making Christmas cards for my friends’
‘Getting all warm after being outside in the cold’
‘Having a bath on Christmas Eve with candles all around’
‘Singing Christmas songs’
‘Listening to a Christmassy audiobook link needed together’
‘Putting presents under the tree’
‘Christmas crackers!’
‘North Pole breakfasts!’
‘Decorating the Christmas table’
‘Putting out snacks for Father Christmas and his reindeer’
‘Going to bed on Christmas Eve feeling really excited’
‘Opening our Christmas stockings all together’
‘Getting a letter from Father Christmas or the North Pole Elves’
‘Playing board games and silly fun as a family’
And when I asked them what they liked best of all the food we have during the Christmas holidays they said:
‘Crispy roast potatoes’
‘The Gravy!’
Christmas Peppermint Bark
‘Christmas pudding’ (although I think this was more to do with
watching the brandy fire on top than what it tastes like!)
‘Candy Canes and Chocolate money’
And, the best thing of all is that even now they’re older, they still say exactly the same things! …
A special day of togetherness
So when I asked our middle child which would he choose if he was given the choice between a present or a ‘Special Day’, I was thrilled with his reply … ‘A special day of course – I can also spend my money and that would be like a present!’ Very smart thinking!
It really is so wonderful that it isn’t all about the presents for them. They really feel that it’s more about the true feeling of Christmas magic. And what they love so much is the cosy ‘togetherness’ and a magical time when they feel warm and safe.
Not about the presents
And there’s your answer …
Children truly believe that Christmas is much more than the presents. What matters to them is the little ‘together’ things. So if we focus more on Christmas Spirit than on Christmas gifts, we’re sure to give our children the best Christmas ever.
I’m always on the look our for new ideas, so I’d love to hear what your kids say they love and how you make Christmas special in your house. We always get our tree on the first weekend of December, which marks the start of us getting as Christmassy as we can.
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I was intrigued what my kids would say because I fully expected them to say ‘the presents’. But my nearly 9 year old son said ‘I love that it’s the season of hope’ and ‘I love that Barnaby and Maggie (our elves) visit us’ and my 5 year old told me that ‘I love seeing the twinkly lights everywhere’.
Lovely to hear x
Ah that’s SO lovely Vicki. I love that your kids love the whole spirit of Christmas – that’s the most magical part about it really isn’t it?