The toddler and Christmas Two - report

It is actually the toddler’s 3rd Christmas, but she was only 4 days old on her first Christmas in 2008.

This year she knows the word “present”, and she knows what to do with a present! Taking off the wrapping and actually looking at what is underneath... The previous year the gift paper was enough to occupy her for hours! We are not getting away with less this year!

Not that we mind! Not at all! There is nothing nothing that beats the excitement of giving a present to your own children...

Christmas time traditions are an important part of creating a family culture.
Some traditions we are upholding:

• Giving of presents to each other.  Yes, we are guilty of the Christmas gluttony of consumerism, but it is nice to be able to spoil each other! (We are really grateful that we are able to buy something for each other.)

          We spaced the toddler with regards her presents. We did not give all of it in one go. We also
           have two family gatherings where she gets presents from the family. (The lucky little fish!)

• The Christmas tree – we put it up in the beginning of December, and the Christmas lights are flickering each night on the tree. The toddler told us regularly: “Kersboom” (Christmas tree)

• Spending time with family. We had family gatherings on the 24th and 25th, with both sets of grandparents! The toddler loved playing with the nephews and niece, and she got a lot of attention from her grandparents!

It was a great time and we had lots of fun!

Today is a bit of a letdown. We look forward for so long to these days, and then it has passed already!  It leaves me with a bit of “Is this all/IT?” That’s why next year we are not going to be here! Holidays is better when you are not staying home, but spending it somewhere else!

I hope you had a great festival time, and that all your expectations came true?