EDITOR’S LETTER: from the desk of Michele Crawshaw
This will be my 14th year celebrating Christmas with little ones in the house. Since our first son, Harry, was born in 2005, followed by his younger brother Gabriel in 2010, Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning – small traditions have crept in and the thrill of seeing their glowing, excited little faces is always the magic of the day for me.
Over the years we’ve added a few rituals that make Christmas unique for us.
There’s the making of red and green coloured reindeer food which is sprinkled on the lawn and down the footpath to the front door on Christmas Eve – so that there is absolutely no chance of the reindeer and Santa not finding the way to our house and depositing presents! There is the Elf on the Shelf who gets up to all sorts of mischief around the house in the days leading up to Christmas Eve; the nightly reading of ’Tis The Month Before Christmas; and – one of my most favourite things – watching the kids’ faces as we play them personalised video messages from Santa. (See portablenorthpole.com.)
My parents always come to stay on Christmas Eve so that they can wake up with their excited grandsons and watch the living room become awash with wrapping paper and discarded packaging. Their company was never more appreciated than the year we bought a trampoline and tried to assemble it after the kids had gone to bed. Thank goodness for my dad’s handyman skills and my mum keeping guard outside the boys’ bedrooms in case they woke!
With our boys now eight and 13, I know it won’t be long before they outgrow some of the traditions, but I’ll be happy knowing we’ve created lasting memories for them. And, really, that is what Christmas is about. Forget the toys and the candy and the groaning table of food – spending the day with people you love is everything.
If, for whatever reason, you can’t be with those people this year, we’re sending you our love and wishes.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of the team at The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple. Loving others.” - Bob Hope