holiday memory winter

Nearing the end of the year is always the busiest time of year especially for parents.  Between planning meals, searching for the perfect gifts for loved ones, creating and attending gatherings for family and friends, and above all else taking care of your family, it’s easy to get caught up in the holiday’s festivities. But what about holiday memories?

So, among all the holiday planning chaos, will your children remember any of it a year from now? Do they remember how it was last year? Do they even have memories of the gifts you spent so many hours pondering what you should get them? What exactly DO your children remember?

Although I may not remember many of the gifts I received during my childhood, I do remember the family traditions of having a Christmas Eve meal, going to church on Christmas Eve at midnight, and opening one of our family gifts before Santa visits the next morning.  Oh, and let’s not forget singing Christmas carols and trimming the tree to get the Christmas holiday started!

For me, the best part of the holiday was when we traveled an hour to Grandma’s house, where all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who I hadn’t seen in a year, would gather and catch up on the past year.  Food and laughter were always abundant and there was never a lack of children playing or music resonating throughout the house.  My grandparents were always working on a puzzle, and it was up to the grandchildren to help complete it, so they could hang it up to make room for the puzzle for next Christmas. Oh, and the Christmas village that took over the craft table seemed to get bigger and bigger every year…adding a building here, or a house there.

 

holiday memoryAnd being from the South, it was a rare sight to even have a white Christmas. And on the extraordinary chance that we did have one, we’d run outside to catch snowflakes on our tongues, make footprints in the snow, and even build our very own snowman…even if there was only enough snow to make him ONE FOOT TALL!

So, if you’re from the North, it’s a rarity to NOT spend your Christmas holidays in the snow…sledding, building snow forts, having snowball fights… and don’t forget having to shovel your driveway to even venture out of your home!  Now that I live in the North, I’ve had the opportunity to have “Southern traditions” as well as “Northern traditions”.  And I can honestly say I don’t prefer one over the other.

So, it seems that what we remember most is the time we spend together with our loved ones.  Yes, gifts are important to your kids, but what they will treasure the most are the family holiday traditions.

What will your children’s holiday memories be?