I've been thinking about how chaotic we've allowed the holidays to become. Everyone wants us to come to their house. They want to fix us a large meal that mostly consists of foods the kids don't care much for. They serve dinner late, and this pushes back the gift opening for the kids. It's one of the reasons I do not enjoy the holidays a lot.
We had Christmas with my dads side of the family last night. Tomorrow is Yule (just for us at home), and then we have Christmas eve with my parents, Christmas morning at our home, Christmas afternoon at Grandmas at noon on Christmas day, and then Christmas with my in-laws the day after Christmas at our house.
By the time it is all said and done I am so tired, the house is a mess, and we have more miles on our sleigh than anyone should have accumulated in a weeks time.
I don't get to enjoy our Christmas morning that much with the kids because we wake up early, open stockings, eat breakfast, open gifts, get dressed for Grandmas, and get on the road. The kids bicker (of course) because they don't have time to play with their new toys, and I feel like I am one cup of coffee shy of making it through the day!
This year we are doing something different. A new holiday tradition. Along with our roast, winter squash, yule log and hot cocoa...we are opening our gifts on Yule! We've decided to save the stockings for Christmas morning so the kids still have something to be excited about waking up to. The 4 gifts we buy each child (Something you want, something you need, something to wear, & something to read) will be opened on Winter Solstice and they will have 3 full days to play with them, and we'll have 3 days to find new homes for the toys, clothes, and books.
I'm so excited about this now and I cannot believe I didn't think of it sooner! I think I have finally found a solution to making our time with the kids alone more enjoyable and memorable!
In short, if your Christmas morning is always rushed and chaotic...consider celebrating it at a different time or on a different day, like tomorrow!
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Sounds like a good solution. A few years ago, we started staying home on Christmas day. It's one of my favorite days of the year. Jammies all day. Nibbling on comfort food, some of it bought premade b/c I'm not spending my Christmas cooking.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your 3 days of togetherness!