Christmas Traditions

Well, here we are…Christmas Eve! Christmas has always been my favourite time of year…I love winter & the smell of snow (yes, snow smells) & the crunch under my feet…but as I mentioned last year, it had always been bittersweet. Not this year though, this year is all sweet & I am beyond excited to start my own Christmas traditions with Elena! Some traditions we’ll start this year but some will have to wait until Elena is older & can understand.

When I was a kid, I could not wait for Christmas morning! When I learned that some families exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, I was so jealous! I remember one year, my Dad had to work Christmas Day (he was a street car driver in Toronto) so my parents decided we would open presents on Christmas Eve morning. I was so excited!! Except then I was super excited Christmas Eve Eve!!! So in honour of that excitement & anticipation, on Christmas Eve Elena will be allowed to open 2 presents…one will always be a new pair of pajamas…so she looks cute in Christmas morning photos…& the other will be a Christmas story book…oh sure, as the years go by, these gifts won’t be a surprise…she’ll of course figure it out but it’ll be a fun...

Tonight we are going to my Mom’s church for their Candle Light service…I’m not sure if this will become a tradition since I’m not religious at all but the service is beautiful, I know Elena will love the music & my Mom will enjoy showing us off. I feel a little hypocritical going since I don’t buy into the whole religion deal but I can really appreciate the beauty of it…

As for the Santa Question…I love the innocence & magic of Santa Clause…I love the idea of believing in the generosity of a jolly man who fulfills a Christmas wish…however, I never liked the idea that some kids get a ton of gifts from Santa (not judging here, this is just my opinion) or that they get everything they ask for. Aside from the fact that I just can’t afford to do this, I don’t want Elena to have that sense of entitlement…Elena will receive 1 gift from Santa Clause Christmas morning plus her stocking will be stuffed with fun little goodies…I think that allows her to experience the magic yet keeps her expectations grounded.

Once Elena is old enough to understand, before Christmas she & I will go thru her toys & she will pack up the ones she no longer plays with & ones she’s grown out of & we will donate them to the local mission. Also when she’s old enough to understand, we will be involved in the Adopt-a-Family program. I will teach Elena that even though we don’t have a lot, there are others that have even less. Christmas has never been about the commercialism for me & I want to make sure that Elena learns more about giving than receiving…

I’m sure over the years we’ll develop other traditions & refine these but I think it’s a good start. I’m just so very excited for Elena’s 1^st…I know she won’t remember it & I’m sure she’s going to be pretty over whelmed but she only has one 1^st Christmas.

So Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy Hanukkah…Happy Kwanza…Happy Winter Solstice…or whatever you celebrate, enjoy!