I prepare for Christmas far enough in advance so that I can actually enjoy all the fun of December! December is a doing month! December should be a verb so it can be an action word! (yes we're doing Verbs in 2nd grade right now) But it should. No other month has so much action! It's as though people walk around blind most of the year and then wake up in December, see so much trouble in the world and try to do something to improve things. (I'm a guilty people too)
But more than the let's find world peace, December strikes me as a doing month because with children it makes me want to DO things. I likely wouldn't traipse out in the cold snow to sit on plastic and careen down a hillside except that my kids really want to... of course once out there I'm the one who's begging for "one more time?"... I want my children to experience all the feelings of Christmas. I want them to hear, see, smell, taste and feel it. I want them to ingest every bit... and not just foods. Lights, music, laughter, giving, thoughtfulness, the stories I remember growing up with and the new ones we discover every year. We probably read out loud together more in December than any other time... and I'm seriously a walking library patron spokeswoman I read so much... but we try to read a different Christmas story each night in December. There are so many wonderful Christmas movies to watch we have matinee Monday, in addition to the normal weekend theater 'chez nous' each week, just to squeeze in a few more shows. We've even been known to allow a Christmas movie during dinner, which includes being allowed to eat downstairs.... two big no no's... but it's Christmas time!
Christmas time gets us out of our house more... We're on the lookout for some service we can do. There are great parties in December... and let's face it we love to party! There are so many great activities that we can not take them all in.
We have decorated the house, including a little decorating in each bedroom so they feel festive every minute! We then sat down and each came up with four different things that we could 'do' together as a family to remember Christmas throughout December! With 6 of us that gives us 24 great activities in December. We have an advent Calendar with little pockets and the activity ideas were written down on slips of paper and randomly put into the pockets. Each day we will enjoy one! (Isn't it odd that I don't try this every month and have wonderful memories like this all the time.... I guess it wouldn't be as special if it happened so regularly)
Even without the snow arriving yet... we dipped into the hot cocoa tonight and had a cozy evening in front of the fire in the living room by the light of the Christmas tree and finalized our December plans. Well, not all... I hold a few back during the planning party so I can surprise them with some but I love to hear what they have enjoyed and remember from past years.
I think another reason that I like to start early is so that the focus can be where it should be. If I weren't ready I wouldn't be able to relax and take the moments to share the feelings of the Christmas spirit with my children.... I could easily turn into a combination of the Grinch, Shrek and Scrooge if I weren't ready for this holiday!
So to all Happy Holidays, get out and 'do' this December and remember to enjoy the Christmas season.... don't let it become a blur!
