Christmas begins on December 25th, and continues until January 6th. Christmastide is a beautiful season with simple pleasures.
I think we have to be so careful to not raise our children with a sense of entitlement, but with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude begins with us, and with how we are gracious and grateful with less material things and more with the connections the seKason provides. Kim John Payne talks more about this important topic here: http://www.themotherco.com/2013/12/a-simple-holiday-less-toys-and-more-time/
I have my own suggestions for slowing down and enjoying Christmastide.
- Go media free if you are not media free already.
- Get outside. Hike, ski, skate, and enjoy the season and the great outdoors in your area.
- Have a Christmastide party with your close friends and family members.
- Have a board game night or a night of playing cards together.
- Have a crafting night. You can make rose windows, straw stars, window stars, paper lanterns, dip candles, or roll candles.
- Visit something seasonal in your area – a winter wonderland, ice skating, a cultural celebration.
- If you are religious, attend your place of worship for the wonderful feast days that happen during Christmastide.
- Take a night to make popcorn and tell tales.
- Do sweet and kind things for each other throughout the twelve days of Christmas
- Say thank you often for the small things in life, and model this for your children.
Please leave a comment in the comment box regarding your favorite traditions for Christmas.
Many blessings,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
Wonderful suggestions! I especially like the idea of a crafting night. We are trying to do more service-oriented activities this year, especially at the nursing home where we volunteer. It’s made the season even more meaningful for us than in the past.
This is the first year where we are really connecting with the holiday. So this Advent we’ve been reading the story of Jesus in verses found in our Advent calendar. Visiting cribs and so on. We only give one present to the kids and than they receive from the immediate family as well. I have already found rooms for improvement for a simpler Christmas next year and to connect more between us and the real value of this season
Thanks, Carrie. This is an excellent reminder of what’s important during this hectic time and stress of ‘will I get this gift made in time?’ One of my favorite traditions is the Christmas Eve farolito walk in our small hispanic city. (these are the paper bags with candles.) The main part of the walk is commercialized, but we walk off into the old, old, quiet neighborhood to enjoy the tranquility and the little bonfires to keep warm. The quiet conversations with strangers and the gently sung carols bring us back to a time in our city where there was no electric light and the only language heard was Spanish. It’s magical.
Why Dec 25th? Around the world, it starts on Christmas eve 🙂 Raised in a European family, Christmas eve was our most special night of the year and I have such fond memories of it.
Lisa,
Absolutely! I was raised by German/French grandparents and we pretty much had our big meal, opened all of our presents, went to church on Christmas Eve.
Lots of fun!
Blessings,
Carrie
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