16/12 - Category: Family, Home, Planning Ahead

"There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions." -Bill McKibben

Can you believe it’s Christmas again?  This year has flown by!  Christmas in my house is full of ritual and tradition. Some old and some new, but it’s the familiarity and comfort these customs generate that make the season unique. 

Every year I mark the start of the festive season by embarking on the very domestic pursuit of baking! As Christmas pudding is possibly my favourite dessert, it is one of the many traditions that I’ve adopted. The smell of baking fruit wafting through the kitchen is heaven and in years to come I hope it will be a nostalgic memory for my kids.

Another is my love of Christmas carols.  From the moment we decorate our tree I have carols playing - mostly old ‘Rat Pack’ selections featuring Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. It’s such a lovely time and Christmas music immediately evokes excitement and happy thoughts.

Financially Christmas can be pretty daunting – particularly as families expand (as this generally means more gifts to buy!).  While it’s easy to get caught up in the sentiment of the season, the commercialisation of the day can be distracting.  It’s a time of giving and for most of us that means a time for spending. However, with some good preparation and realistic expectations Christmas can be full of peace, goodwill and generosity without spending too much.  Here are my tips to ensure Christmas remains a joyous season!

• Speak to your family about expectations.  Be realistic and talk honestly about what is going on at this time.
• Remind children about what is done for them throughout the year, things like birthdays or other celebrations and holidays.  Also create excitement about other activities on the day, so the emphasis is not all on presents.
• Make sure everybody you are celebrating Christmas with has a similar view or expectation, set out some rules so everyone is buying within the same price range.
• If the family is getting too big to buy for, suggest taking a ‘Kris Kringle’ approach to gift giving. There are a few variations on how Kris Kringle works but the basic principle is that names of each participant are randomly drawn out of a hat and allocated to another participant meaning that each person only needs to buy one gift.
• Slow things down. Christmas morning is an exciting time but in my house sometimes the opening of gifts can be frenzied. I’ve started to slow things down a bit by teaching my kids to enjoy reading the cards and thanking the giver instead of madly opening packages.
• Keep some for a rainy day. Children can receive lots of gifts over the course of the day; why not consider putting some away for later so they really appreciate them.
• Buy smart. I’ve banned anything that is time consuming to assemble or requires batteries – experience has taught me my stress levels will stay much lower this way!

What are your tips and tricks to making Christmas a peaceful and joyous occasion in your house?  I would love to hear them!

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