The last few years have been really hard on my family with me being laid off and my husband only getting part-time hours. Although we pulled through and had a great Christmas last year for our then 1-year-old daughter, this year is different. The Christmas spirit for me is not there yet I know that my daughter would be more than happy with a box of crayons and a coloring book from the dollar store that is not what my husband and I had growing up.
I looked at some Christmas videos of my mom and I today to try to get in the spirit. I laughed, I cried and laughed again but the truth is since she passed in 2006 Christmas hasn’t been the same. I started thinking about if money wasn’t an issue what I would want for our Christmas traditions. I thought about what it was like growing up, IT WAS AMAZING! My mom was a single mom with two daughters and she believed in giving us everything we needed and what she could on things we wanted. Every holiday we got something a little special but Christmas was always the best. She had traditions that were past down from great grandparents like the tangerines in our stockings and popcorn stringing night for the Christmas tree with hot coco.
My mom started her own traditions like opening one present on Christmas Eve every year it was the same thing new Pajamas. It was the best at least until Christmas morning. She also did LifeSaver storybook in the stockings. Christmas morning we would get up and go straight to the tree, no brushing your hair or teeth, no changing out of your pajamas, it was, come as you are. She would have OJ, Coffee or hot coco waiting. After we opened gifts and the house was a disaster she would make cinnamon rolls and we would clean up, get dressed for our Family dinner and we were thankful for what we had. Every year my mom made Christmas special for me we may not of had much but you would never know it because she gave all she had to show her girls that Christmas is about love, about family, but most of all it wasn’t the amount of presents you got it was how wonderful we felt to know our mom and Santa listened to our wishes.
So today as I watched those videos laughing and crying I felt my mommy in my heart and she brought the spirit of Christmas to me. She reminded me it isn’t the amount of presents my now 2-year-old daughter has but the family she spends it with and how special we make her dollar store crayons and coloring book. Needless to say it is time to get ready for Christmas and sometimes we need to remember our Christmas’ growing up to remember the spirit our loved ones shared whether they are still with us or have passed on. I sincerely Hope your Christmas is filled with Family, Love, and great memories and traditions.