Give Your Child Memories for the Holidays

You know...I have to say during this holiday season, that what you do with your children will far exceed what you could ever buy for them.

I remember a few of my gifts from childhood (my cabbage patch doll, easy bake oven, and sit-n-spin) but if you were to ask me what Christmas I received those gifts I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly and out of the many gifts I've been given throughout my childhood I can only remember a handful. Now I do still have my Cabbage Patch doll but the rest of the gifts are long gone. What isn't long gone is the memories that my family made for me. To me this is truly what the holidays are all about.

I remember my mom laying out all the ingredients to make Christmas cookies. We didn't have microwaves yet so she would lay the sticks of butter out on the counter overnight and then when it was time to make cookies I  remember watching her smash the sticks of butter together with a fork while adding the vanilla. When I think about it I'm telling ya I can still smell that wonderful smell. I remember Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Good Shepard Lutheran Church. I remember my dad always reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to me while I laid next to him in bed. I remember going downtown to see Santa at Famous Barr and getting a little Raggedy Ann to take home. I remember my mom bringing up the big boxes of ornaments and being so excited to help her put them on the tree. I can truly remember my cousins and I going into my aunt Marge's bedroom during a Christmas party and laying on her bed, burying ourselves in every one's coats, and staring up at the ceiling looking at the huge cloud of cigarette smoke that was swirling above us. I remember my Aunt June and Aunt Dorothy always having green, silver, red, and gold Hershey's kisses in little candy bowl EVERYWHERE in the house and me and my cousins would eat them til we got sick. I also remember sitting in the back seat of the car at night while we were going somewhere and looking at all the Christmas lights on people's houses. I remember falling asleep on my grandma's lap in the backseat while we were taking her back to her house. Those were Great Times for me.

Great memories aren't always perfect memories either. I remember my dad getting all riled up coming home from my aunt's on Christmas Eve in the snow and icy weather because he HATES traffic AND driving in bad weather. I remember my cousin Jimmy accidentally shooting off a handgun through the dining room while we were having Christmas Eve dinner and my uncle FREAKING OUT! lol I remember my dad eating an entire box of VERY strong rum balls that a lady at his work made and he was as lit as a firecracker when he came home from work the day before Christmas Eve and my mom was not too thrilled :) I also remember my dad getting out the boxes of C-9 bulb Christmas lights and cursing under his breath as he tried to untangle them and then figure out which ONE was causing all of them not to light. lol  (You all know what I'm talking about :)

Point being....these are the things I remember and cherish the most about the holidays. Please try not to stress out too much worrying if you will be giving your children a "good" Christmas this year or not. Years from now, it is not the gifts they will remember but it is the time they will have spent with you and with family and friends. Read books, bake cookies, tell them stories about your own childhood. (I still love when my parents share stories about how they got socks and a coat for Christmas etc.) 

My HOPE tonight with this blog is that you will not stress about getting your children EVERYTHING they want this year because truth be told all they really want is you. (yes even the teenagers) Give them the ultimate gift this year for Christmas....memories they will have not just for a week or a month or a year but for a lifetime.

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."  ~From the television show The Wonder Years

God gives us HOPE when there seems to be none. ~ Your Friend, Lib