A Christmas Reflection

The day after Christmas is always a weird one for me. All of the holiday chaos has come to a quiet standstill. The presents are all opened, the Christmas music is taken off of the radio, and the house is pretty much a disheveled mess of scattered wrapping paper, boxes, and party remenants.

We work for months finding the perfect gifts, baking a surplus of Christmas cookies, decorating trees and front porches ~ trying to sprinkle the Christmas magic everywhere. I love that every night my husband and I snuggle up on the couch and watch the Hallmark movie channel - there were some really good ones this year! The Christmas season has a warmth to it… a feel good vibe that starts late November and continues on for a full month. It’s stressful, it’s exciting, it’s something really special. And now that it’s over, I’m taking a step back to try to reflect on all that just happened.

Last year Ryker was only 7 months old when Christmas came, so it wasn’t as much of a change. However, this year things were a little bit different. I’m not going to lie, getting Christmas together this year was challenging! Ryker is on the move. Going to actual stores to Christmas shop is quite the feat. I love home town shopping, but getting his stroller into those smaller stores in nearly impossible. And forget about letting Ryker roam the stores… he wants to touch and climb everything!

I love to bake cookies, but this year Ryker actually knows what a “tookie’ is. Pair that with climbing stools to get on the counter and you can imagine it becomes that much harder to get cookies into the oven in a timely manner.

I was worried at some points that all the holiday shopping just wouldn’t get done. Can someone just watch my kid for one day so I can bang out all of my Christmas To Do Lists!!

At the end of the day, we pulled it off. The shopping got done, and the cookies were made. We hosted Christmas Eve without almost any hitches, minus the massive container of food getting dropped in the garage on the way into the house. Thankfully all of the containers pretty much stayed intact.

When you get older, Christmas become less about you, and more about everyone else. I’ve been feeling like this for years now, but this year with Ryker it was especially different. Ryker doesn’t understand the concept of Santa yet. To be honest, he doesn’t really like the man. Lets be real… why would a little kid like a big stranger in a red suit chanting HO HO HO. We teach our kids about stranger danger, but willingly throw them on the lap of of one and encourage them to smile.

Ryker points to him in books. “That’s Santa” we say. “Nooooo” says Ryker hesitantly. As if to say, please don’t ever let him near me.

But Ryker does understand the concept of presents. Santa left Ryker a Power Wheels Choo Choo train that he can actually ride and drive himself. This year, we had my step daughter with us for Christmas Eve and morning. Ava and Ryker have such a special bond, that watching them share Christmas morning together was one of the most special moments yet. Watching Ava and Ryker run out to see the presents brings a whole new sense of magic and meaning to the season. Ryker can’t stop saying Choo Choo every time we leave the house, or come back home. I think Santa hit it out of the park with that gift. His Elmo slippers were a close second. It’s the small things in life that bring us joy.

Our elves had a baby this year, which was another exciting event in the household. But it isn’t about the materialistic things that I am talking about. It’s about the magic and the moments. It’s about seeing Christmas through the eyes of our children. It’s about experiencing all of the excitement and the joy. It’s about family and togetherness.

I was so stressed this holiday season. It felt like pure chaos at some moments. But I wish I had just taken a deep breath and enjoyed it. Like everything in life, it all goes by so fast. And like most things in life, the important things get done.

I hope that this holiday season was a special one for you and your family. I hope that you got everything you wanted, although everything you need and want, you probably already have. My husband is home for almost three weeks with no travel, so that is one of the BEST Christmas gifts I could get this year.

The music may have stopped, the decorations may be gone, the presents might be put away, but that doesn’t mean the Christmas spirit has to be tucked away until next year. Maybe the music might just be playing a different tune. Maybe the decorations might change. But the love and family and togetherness can continue no matter the season.

<3

P.S.

What is your favorite family tradition for the holidays?? Comment below.