Christmases to Come
I know this is a little late, but...oh well. Better late than never, right?
This Christmas was a bit awkward. Other than trying to figure out how to do Christmas for a baby, we didn't really have time to do any Christmas shopping...so...our gifts were a bit awkward. But here's the thing...we kinda liked it.
See, we don't lack for anything. If there's something we want throughout the year, we get it. If it's a big-ticket item, we save up for it. As wonderful as this is, it can make it tough to create a Christmas list.
So this year we gave each other gifts that we already knew we were getting...and yes, we still wrapped them and put them under the tree. Ryan and I exchanged one nice gift each and a few "dinky", fun gifts. When I say dinky I mean...kinda dorky. I got a couple of quilting magazines and a pair of running pants. Ryan got socks (that Lane picked out...by chewing on them in the store), steak grinder seasonings, and a box of "Christmas Tree" snack cakes. Seriously. And yes, they were wrapped.
And in giving these funny gifts, we made a pact. We promised each other that in the future we aren't going to give each other a thoughtless gift just to say that we gave the other something. Basically, we don't want to give a gift that has no meaning just because we're supposed to give the other something. We don't want to simply check a box. For example, the steak grinders? Ryan LOVES using those things. One day Lane and I were in the store and I picked up a few extras, wrapped them, and put them under the tree. And when Ryan opened them? He laughed and smiled and was actually excited about them. Same thing with the snack cakes. Later that night he had a cake and as we were going to bed he whispered, "Thank you for my Christmas Trees." Dorky, yes, but I don't care. There was genuine thought there.
My other hope for future Christmases is to instill a love of giving into Lane. One thing I hope to do when he's older is to have him pick gifts for each person himself. A dear friend of mine told me she would take her son to the Dollar Tree and have a list of people that he was to pick out gifts for. She'd tell him that he needed a gift for each person on the list and that he could pick out whatever he wanted to give them. One year he picked out a box of light bulbs for his aunt. She asked why the light bulbs and he answered, "Well, every time we go to Aunt L's house, she always has a light burned out. So I thought she could use some light bulbs." For his older cousin he picked out a bottle of mustard. He explained, "I'm getting this for J. He LOVES mustard." Hearing her tell me of his thoughtful (and innocent) gifts made my heart so warm. From that point (years ago) I decided that I was going to do the same with my children. I want Lane to have a giving (and thoughtful) heart when he gets older.
Another biggie that I want for future Christmases is to not only teach Lane, but to also remind myself of the importance of Christmas. Yes, it is when we celebrate Jesus' birthday, but it's more than that. It's our remembering and celebrating that Jesus came here to save us. THAT is what I want Lane to know early on. And yes, I know it'll take a while for him to really understand that. I know. (Heck, I'm 28 and I feel like I just got it this year.) But, I want to read him the story every year and teach him what it means.
So...these are my hopes for my future Christmases. This year was really good. But I'm hoping that next year will be even better.
This Christmas was a bit awkward. Other than trying to figure out how to do Christmas for a baby, we didn't really have time to do any Christmas shopping...so...our gifts were a bit awkward. But here's the thing...we kinda liked it.
See, we don't lack for anything. If there's something we want throughout the year, we get it. If it's a big-ticket item, we save up for it. As wonderful as this is, it can make it tough to create a Christmas list.
So this year we gave each other gifts that we already knew we were getting...and yes, we still wrapped them and put them under the tree. Ryan and I exchanged one nice gift each and a few "dinky", fun gifts. When I say dinky I mean...kinda dorky. I got a couple of quilting magazines and a pair of running pants. Ryan got socks (that Lane picked out...by chewing on them in the store), steak grinder seasonings, and a box of "Christmas Tree" snack cakes. Seriously. And yes, they were wrapped.
And in giving these funny gifts, we made a pact. We promised each other that in the future we aren't going to give each other a thoughtless gift just to say that we gave the other something. Basically, we don't want to give a gift that has no meaning just because we're supposed to give the other something. We don't want to simply check a box. For example, the steak grinders? Ryan LOVES using those things. One day Lane and I were in the store and I picked up a few extras, wrapped them, and put them under the tree. And when Ryan opened them? He laughed and smiled and was actually excited about them. Same thing with the snack cakes. Later that night he had a cake and as we were going to bed he whispered, "Thank you for my Christmas Trees." Dorky, yes, but I don't care. There was genuine thought there.
My other hope for future Christmases is to instill a love of giving into Lane. One thing I hope to do when he's older is to have him pick gifts for each person himself. A dear friend of mine told me she would take her son to the Dollar Tree and have a list of people that he was to pick out gifts for. She'd tell him that he needed a gift for each person on the list and that he could pick out whatever he wanted to give them. One year he picked out a box of light bulbs for his aunt. She asked why the light bulbs and he answered, "Well, every time we go to Aunt L's house, she always has a light burned out. So I thought she could use some light bulbs." For his older cousin he picked out a bottle of mustard. He explained, "I'm getting this for J. He LOVES mustard." Hearing her tell me of his thoughtful (and innocent) gifts made my heart so warm. From that point (years ago) I decided that I was going to do the same with my children. I want Lane to have a giving (and thoughtful) heart when he gets older.
Another biggie that I want for future Christmases is to not only teach Lane, but to also remind myself of the importance of Christmas. Yes, it is when we celebrate Jesus' birthday, but it's more than that. It's our remembering and celebrating that Jesus came here to save us. THAT is what I want Lane to know early on. And yes, I know it'll take a while for him to really understand that. I know. (Heck, I'm 28 and I feel like I just got it this year.) But, I want to read him the story every year and teach him what it means.
So...these are my hopes for my future Christmases. This year was really good. But I'm hoping that next year will be even better.
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