Our Christmas Celebration

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas with your family this past week. Ours was full of new memories and lots of creations and laughs. We sang, drank hot cocoa, binged on old Christmas cartoons and spend lots of quality family time. Christmas time is so very special to me. I love the magic and heart that it brings. More people focus on things just for this month that should be expressed during the entire year. A big one is doing good for others. We took part in a few community service projects to give back to the community. They got new jammies for Christmas Eve, we made gingerbread houses, colored, played outside, danced and had lots of fun.

When you were a kid, when did you wonder about Santa? 

Honestly, I never had a chance to not believe in Santa or wonder about him. I remember waking up on Christmas morning and seeing the tree surround by beautifully wrapped packages and treat stuffed stockings. I would get so excited that I could barely get to sleep the night before and I was sure Santa was going to catch me awake. I did expect coal in my stocking a few years.  My mom made sure every holiday was beautiful and huge for us. The rule was was we had a new pair of pajamas to sleep in on Christmas Eve and a nice outfit for church service. We didn't get many things during the year, but when we woke up and the room was filled with gifts, Christmas cheer and lots of candy, we were in kid heaven. I never wondered about Santa, due to some sad circumstances during my childhood that let me see it was all in good fun at an early age. Pretending was the name of the game and that made us happy as little clams. One year my mom wrapped our gifts in comic book paper and it was just unforgettable. I just loved it.

Now that you have kids, what is your approach?

 I want my children to know that the reason for the season is to celebrate, our Savior, Jesus Christ being born. I feel like you can experience and show your love for The Lord and enjoy the magic of a big jolly man riding around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Our kids are still young so everything is fun. I do not see any reason at all to take this away from our children.  There is no magic like the magic of believing as a child. 

So our approach is celebrating with our children while educating them as well. It works for us and we of course let our children know that Santa brings one special gift and we get the rest, but Santa brings them after the elves make them. I mean it ties real world in with the magic. Even though, Saint Nicholas was the Patron of Children and we go with the different symbols of Christmas. I always wondered why we had certain symbols to represent Christmas and now I know. I did a blog post about it so I could share what I found out.

When you stop believing that is it. You can not go back from that. So yes, we believe in Santa at our house!

My children are home for Christmas break right now, so I am having very little chances to get on the computer.  I am getting more time in with my kids, which is so very important. They are not at the age of Christmas break meaning "let's sleep late" yet. They are so fun and they are filling each day with excitement, love and they make me smile. From being silly and making funny noises, to being love bugs and making creative memories. I am contemplating on the upcoming year and what blogging adventures I will take on. 

I love reading Janine from Confession's of a Mommyaholic's posts. She is always doing really great series and other posts that are equally interesting. Janine's Confessions of a Mommyaholic has a great series every Friday. I am getting my post ready for the upcoming finish the sentence..."My blogging goals for this year are...."