The Great Christmas Debate

So yesterday David and I find ourselves talking about Santa and gift giving.  I don't really like the idea of promoting the idea of Santa because it is not what Christmas is about.  But, I don't want my kids to feel like they aren't normal and not give them gifts, so I have told them that they get gifts because Jesus isn't around to give birthday gifts to, so they get gifts instead.  Yes, it may sound weird, but I just want them to know that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, not some guy in a red suit giving out presents.

But, my goal to not get them into Santa quickly faded when my daughter was 2 and everyone (including my then in-laws) felt the need to talk about Santa all the time to them around the holidays.  What did you ask Santa for?  Have you been good so Santa can bring you presents?  Blah, blah.  So, I just let everyone else do the Santa talking and I just never mention him.  I don't put "from Santa" on their gifts, they are just there.

So the debate is that David was raised that once the tree was up, gifts would start getting put under the tree from mom and dad and they would stay there until Christmas morning when they would be opened.  However, "Santa" would bring one BIG gift on Christmas Eve night and they would be surprised at what it was in the morning when they woke up.  Then they took turns opening everything.

What my family did was on Christmas Eve, mom and dad gave us a gift from them, then when we woke up Christmas morning, we were excited to see all these presents under the tree that were not there before.  The only things under the tree before Christmas day were gifts from relatives or the siblings to each other.  Then, we took turns opening everything.

So, we have the agreement on taking turns opening things.  But, I like the way my family did it better and he likes the way his family did it better.  There is no right or wrong, but if you know me, you know I like getting my way... which I probably will... but I'd like to hear any suggestions on ways to combine both traditions or what your family might have done differently!

Oh, the Holidays!

Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's is my favorite time of year. I know, this is quite unoriginal of a revelation, but I can't lie and come up with a more clever time of year. This is not just a fat person thing to say, but one of my favorite things is the food- good and free! I'm all about tasty food that I didn't have to buy or cook. And there is always an array of choices, not just the boring ho hum turkey and taties. I also love the spirit of giving. I'm a bigger fan of giving than receiving and I love putting thought into gifts.

On that note, why I'm not a fan of receiving is because I hate feeling guilty and gifts always do that for me. If I don't like them, I feel mass amounts of guilt. And I hate showing fake joy at receiving a gift that I'm hoping came with the receipt. Likewise it makes me curious to know if the people I give gifts to feel the same. All right, now I just became a little bitter about the season, so I'll move on, lol.

The downfall of holidays is having to spend it with those relatives that you don't actually enjoy their company. Whether it be an overly critical blood relative or that in-law that punched me in the face once, it is difficult to spend time with "family" that you don't want to be around. And is my family the only one that isn't fake with each other? We all know where we stand with each other, but my in-laws all pretend to be lovey dovey, but tell me otherwise when their backs are turned. Which is better?

But, what always brings the smile back to my face is the excitement from my children. They love playing with cousins, opening presents and being the center of attention. It makes it hard to be miserable on holidays when you see how happy your children are and it brings you back to the time of your own youth, when the future seemed less grim and bleak and Santa was the coolest guy in the world!

Happy Holidays!