How do the holidays make you feel?
Finding joy in the little things
My first year of college, I was in San Diego. My parents had moved to New Jersey for my dad’s job. When I walked in their new home for Christmas break, my mom had decorated it like a winter wonderland. Sparkling snow flakes floated from the ceiling on clear fishing line. The staircase was lined with garland and tiny lights glowed from the windowsills. It was magical. She missed me and wanted to it to feel like my new home. I always remember that Christmas and how good it felt to be with my family again. I don’t remember a single gift I was given that year. I just remember all those decorations and that they waited for me to decorate the tree with my brothers.
I always seek to give that to my own daughter. We go to the same tree lot every year and her and my husband debate which tree is the most perfect. We watch the movie Elf multiple times and have memorized all the best lines. In fact, “You sit on a throne of lies” may be one we use all year. We bake our family cookies and watch lots of Christmas cookie challenges.
The three of us. It is always just the three of us. We never travel. I suppose this tradition began when my daughter was born. She spent her first Christmas in the hospital recovering form open heart surgery at 7 months old. Germs were dangerous to her for many years. It was always safer to stay home. And so it became our tradition. We sit in our home of lights, eat cookies and watch old Christmas movies.
The holidays can be stressful. It is full of expectations and triggers of holidays past. We feel obligated to give gifts and show up to things. I find if I set aside time for the things that are most important to me and my family, I can carve out bits of Christmas magic. It is all those little things you do, and the time you spend with people that they remember most.
As a kid I loved the idea that Santa flew overhead to deliver presents. But with older brothers that magic didn’t last long. My daughter saw The Elf on the Shelf in the store and wanted one so badly. So I surprised her. She named her Ginger and wrote to her every night. She awoke every morning and leapt out of bed to find her. Every year we would make Ginger a special present: A pug, a purse for her pug, a sleeping bag, a scarf. You get the idea. My daughter is now 14. And while Ginger no longer gets letters, when my daughter opened the holiday boxes and found her, she sat on the couch and I could see her eyes fill with tears. All the little clothes and magic she still holds. We like to move her around the house still. She will always be magic.
I’m a podcast junkie. One I discovered this year is The Calm Christmas. Listening to Beth’s soothing voice and English accent already feels like you are invited into an English Christmas Story. She shares ideas on how to create a meaningful Christmas, recipes, and crafty ideas. It is one of those things where when I listen, I feel like I’m looking into a different world unlike my one here in Southern California. It gives me those nostalgic Christmas vibes.
Never stop looking for the magic,
Kim