Parents Holiday Stress Free Survival Guides

Christmas! Oh No, Not Again!

~ A survival guide for the holiday season ~

    Sometime, we wish we could ignore it completely. The stores switch over from the usual canned music playing old Beatles to the usual Christmas ditties that promise us chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nipping. We find ourselves humming along with the catchy tunes when we suddenly realize it is Christmas season again. We take a mental review of last year and remember that we haven’t payed off last year’s Christmas yet. That’s when the butterfly keeper opens up the cages in our stomachs and lets them all out. Right there on aisle three with a bright yellow smiley face looking on, we start to breathe heavier and we feel a little faint. The garden center suddenly springs to life with thousands of boxes of miniature lights and the outdoor furniture you were hoping to be able to sit down on, is missing. There, coming up the aisle dragging a clanking chain with presents and tinsel attached is the ghost of Christmases past and he is coming for you. You hurry out of the store only to have some odd looking person standing by a red bucket and ringing a bell, specially tuned to shatter teeth, wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. But what about Thanksgiving, aren’t you going to wish me a happy Thanksgiving too, or Halloween?

     You are not alone. Millions of people, just like you, have the same panic about Christmas that you do. Why, oh why do we go through this every year, and then the reason reaches up and tugs at your hand and asks, "Daddy, can we go look at the toys." The biggest problem is that we have two Christmases every year, and the two have become so interwoven that we have trouble distinguishing between them. They are, the secular Christmas, that includes a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, White Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and those roasting chestnuts that hardly anyone has ever eaten, mostly because the Chestnut trees were all killed off by disease a hundred years ago. The other Christmas is the one that includes baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the three wise men, and the Christmas play at church. This is the part of Christmas that makes us feel the best, filling us with hope and joy as we say, "What the heck", and merrily empty our wallets in front of the yellow smiley face as we watch his manic grin get bigger.

    

 We know when the season is going to start, so rather than ignore it, sit your family down and tell them that this year is going to be different. Inform you youngsters that Santa is going to be on a tighter budget this year and won’t be bringing as many toys. Let them know that they can pick one or two more expensive items, but that will be it. I’m sure that many of you have heard of the advent calendar. Set up a family advent countdown that will have one special event that happens each day up to Christmas.

Let every one in the family contribute to the activities, but make each event special. This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take up a tremendous amount of time. What it does is make the family spend time together and interact together. As a suggestion, one night could be for a game. One night could be for making a popcorn chain to decorate the tree. One night could be to watch a Christmas DVD.

Also, insist that at least one of the presents be something the child has made. The craft stores are loaded with ideas and the satisfaction of making, wrapping, and giving something they have made with their own two hands can be the highlight of the season.

Excellent Resource for Kids Crafts

You get the idea. Be deliberate.

What I can promise you is that by taking charge of your Christmas and making it yours, it will bring your family closer together and help set the patterns for your kids when they have families of their own. Then they will remember their Christmases as a time of joy and family fun. Some day when they are old, they will be able to say, "Our Christmases were special."