Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~Confucius Well, hello, there! I just realized that this is my first blog post since July! It would seem I've had nothing to say for six whole months, but if you know me, you know better than that! In fact, I've got another post in the works to explain (or at least discuss) the reason(s) for my absence around here. So, I'll be back soon with that one. In the meantime, I'd like to share something with you that I tried for the first time this Christmas. It was an idea sparked by this rhyme... Each year for as long as they've been in the world, we've made sure our children have had a "merry" Christmas. When they were little bits, it was easy to bring smiles to their faces on Christmas Morning. However, the older they got, the harder it became. Some years, one would want a "big ticket item" but the other would shrug the shoulders and say he/she really couldn't think of anything "big" that they wanted/needed. (Admittedly, none of us need anything!) So, I would always try to make sure the AMOUNT spent was as equal as possible...which, of course, meant that while one would get that one pricey present the other would get more gifts (much smaller in value) to open on Christmas Morning. The next year, it might be reversed. I'm sure you can imagine the sibling banter that ensued. Suffice it to say... some years haven't ended up being so holly jolly around here. In addition (complete honesty alert here!), everything started changing when they went to college and it started to seem a bit overkill to me. I was just wandering around looking for something...anything...to buy and wrap and put under the tree for them to open on the big day. I started to feel as if the things I'd picked out weren't going to get the big "yay! I LOVE it!" reaction. I SO desperately wanted to rekindle that Magic from Christmases long before. So, I'd find myself doing second and third rounds of shopping to try and make up for the lackluster gifts by giving them MORE things to open. My thinking was that they might not LOVE the stuff, but at least there would be lots of it for them to open. Crazy, right?? Clearly, it had turned into nothing more than a task...a box to check off on the endless holiday to-do list. I found no joy in it at all. (I warned you..."complete honesty"...remember?) Here's where that rhyme comes into the story! See, I've been a Pinterest Girl for a long time. I can get sucked down the Pinning Pipe very quickly and stay there for hours. Lately, I've actually been doing a lot of pinning as inspiration for some things related to my job, and one day I ran across a pin with that rhyme... "Something you want; Something you need; Something to wear; Something to read." I knew full well that it was intended to be an idea to do for small children in an effort to teach them about 'giving vs. receiving' and 'appreciating what is received' and 'less is more'...etc. So, I quickly scrolled on to the next group of pins on my wall. But something about the idea just kept popping into my head for days after that. Truly, it wasn't about trying to teach my adult children a lesson of any kind. Somehow, it just seemed...well...maybe a little fun...dare I say...maybe even a bit "magical". It just seemed like I could be more purposeful in our giving to our children. I mentioned it to them and they didn't object, so I decided to try it this year. I still asked for suggestions, but it wasn't about making sure it was equal as far as cost was concerned anymore. I was much more interested in giving things that fit the criteria and actually would be things they would really appreciate and enjoy having / using. In addition to our own two children, we now claim our son's beautiful fiance' as our third child, so I included her in this new idea as well. I was so excited to watch each of them open their four gifts that I didn't even take pictures of what was inside each box! Sorry! (but, then again, I'm not sorry because that just means I was REALLY enjoying this Christmas and was totally in the moment!) It was nice to know that we had truly taken time to think about each of our children and given them things specific to what is going on in their lives right now. Among those twelve gifts, we watched our daughter open a much-NEEDED vacuum cleaner (I'm not exaggerating when I say she was ecstatic to receive it!), our son: a beautiful brown leather satchel NEEDED for his upcoming student teaching experience which he seemed to really appreciate, and our future daughter-in-law: a wireless audio transmitter for her car which we heard from our son she had been WANTing for some time. (Yay! She loved it!) There were also some shoes, a sport coat, gift certificates for spa treatments, and of course...books!! :) Each gift had a purpose, and I'm all about that! Yes, it was over pretty quickly (it doesn't take long to open four gifts), but it was a great experience, and I plan to do it again in the years to come...unless Pinterest shares something new with me (other than that Elf on the Shelf business, that is. Nope. Fortunately, he wasn't around when our children were little! LOL) Anyway, I just wanted to share the idea with you. What was the reason for the rhyme? I'm sure it's different for every person that chooses to try it, but for me, it just boiled down to making an effort to remove the unnecessary complications and focus on the simplicity that should accompany Christmas. If you are still recuperating from the recent holiday hustle, I encourage you to keep this in mind for next year. It was definitely a winner for me! Until next time,
~D
1 Comment
Diane Deariso
12/31/2017 04:44:44 pm
Alan and I have already decided this will be the way we do it next year. We gave the boys one gift and money. I hated it. (I will continue to stuff stockings though - that is a favorite for me!) Learning the parenting part of adult children like you.....
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AuthorHi! I'm Dot. I refuse to succumb to the "empty nest syndrome"! So, this is my journal.....my photo album.....my attempt to enjoy the next chapter of my life as it unfolds. Welcome to The Roomy Nest! Archives
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