My family never celebrated Christmas, but my mom made it fun anyway. Sometimes we had little stockings to hang up on our front hall chair, where we’d leave cookies for Santa. We didn’t have a chimney, so Santa – if he came in at all – had to come in through the front door. But we knew mom ate the cookies. Sometimes we went for the “traditional” Chinese food and a movie.
I remember helping my friend Lisa decorate her Christmas tree while singing carols as we listened to them playing. And I remember going to midnight mass with my friend Tim – I was in awe of the gorgeous music at candlelight.
For Chanukkah, we always had a present each night – something small, like a calendar for the year, and some other things we looked forward to opening after lighting the candles. My mom always had driedles and chocolate coins for us – and sometimes we called her at work to sing the prayers and open the presents together.
I often babysat on New Year’s Eve, but remember a few with friends as well. My senior year in HS, a bunch of my friends stayed over and my mom made us breakfast. We made it a tradition for a while and got together as many New Year’s Eves as possible during college.
My children have already spent a New Year’s Eve or two overnight with friends from camp. A few times, they’ve come along to a party where my husband’s band was playing.
We’ve tried to solidify some special holiday memories for my own children. When they were younger, we celebrated Christmas each year with friends who also came over to celebrate Chanukkah with us. We made the holiday really special when they were little, but they have only vague memories. We still light the candles together each night of Chanukkah, it’s just the presents that have become less exciting. Although perhaps that’s my own perspective. We don’t wrap little gifts for them as often – they’re more likely now to make their choices on line!
Whatever your holiday memories may be, keep them close to your heart and share them with your kids! Below are a few signs for the season, from hands4learning. Check our Sign of the Month page for a few more: https://mybabyfingers.com/staging/9114/sign-of-the-month.
DREAM COLD FAMILY
