MODERN FAMILY
CHRISTMAS is going to be very different in our house this year after son junior tricked me into accidentally spilling the big Santa secret.
He obviously had started to have some reservations about a man in a big red cloak being able to get down the chimneys of every child in the world in one night, and I walked straight into his trap.
He might have uncovered the secret, but it hasn’t stopped him writing his list, planning the position of the tree and talking about when we can bring the big box of sweets, that arrived in the supermarkets during the summer heatwave, down from its hiding place.
No matter what age they are, it doesn’t stop the excitement of the festive period and, despite the non-believing, it has already started to filter into our home.
It helps that while I might be in my mid-forties, I still absolutely love Christmas and enjoy the build-up and like the thought that Santa and his helpers are busy working away in their factory in the North Pole at this time of year.
But it is not quite like previous years when they used to jump on the Christmas juggernaut, taking all the jingle bells and tinsel that they could find with them, and took their little helpers (us!) too.
Happy memories of times when they would spend hours over their biggest dilemma – should they leave carrots or cookies out for Santa and his team of reindeer? Or the time they thought we had gone to the “wonderland” place in America ice- skating when it actual fact we had travelled 20 minutes, and not 20 hours, to the grotto at the Celtic Manor.
While those innocent times are memories, it doesn’t mean that the magic of Christmas has disappeared completely. It will just be a little bit different.
No matter how much we wish our children would stay young and filled with wonder forever, eventually they are going to grow out of believing in fairies and elves.
One mum explained it as helping your children go through the transition at Christmas from “childhood awe” to appreciating family traditions.
It is why we will still be putting up the Christmas tree on Sunday with all the trimmings, watching all our favourite films and making sure the presents will still be waiting for them beside the fireplace when they wake up on Christmas morning.
It is also the perfect time to get them involved in learning about the true values of Christmas and how giving to others should be a tradition for the time of year.
The holidays can be hectic and stressful, with too many things to do and too little time. But getting into the spirit ourselves will make children – of all ages – excited, too. A little bit of Christmas magic can be contagious, so if we feel it, they will too.
Is that sleighbells you can hear?