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Being in charge of creating new traditions with our little family is something I didn’t give much thought to before I had kids, but it has unexpectedly been one of my favorite things about motherhood.
We are still figuring out which Christmas traditions are worth repeating every year, but so far we’re sticking with gingerbread houses (it gets more fun each year as the kids learn to actually decorate with the candy instead of eating it), Christmas-light hunting, collecting Christmas books and reading them throughout December, baking and delivering treats for our neighbors, and a sibling gift-exchange and sleepover on Christmas Eve. Our traditions are simple, but they feel like a good balance of holiday fun without too much chaos.
As my husband and I have thought about what feelings and memories we hope our kids associate with Christmas, turning their hearts from all the fun of “getting” at Christmas to “giving” is a big one.
I loved the printables The Small Seed created for the Light the World campaign this year. In the past, we’ve tracked our little acts of service on notepads or with a version of The Giving Manger, but having a huge visual reminder in our stairway everyday was what we needed to actually keep us on track.
We approached Light the World a little differently, though. I love daily suggestions lds.org provided, but to be completely honest, checking off one of those suggestions everyday sounded like a huge task at the stage of life we’re in right now. I worried it would become just one more thing to keep up with and to feel guilty about. Even good things can get out of hand, you know?
Then I started to notice little opportunities. Opportunities to involve the kids in cleaning the house before Clay got home. Or telling the kids Dad had a rough day and letting them come up with something to do to cheer him up, like writing him a note. I became more aware of opportunities to choose to react in love instead of annoyance or anger.
I also started asking the kids what kind things people did for them that day. And I started noticing the kind things people did for me.
While Clay was on a work trip one night, I took the kids to Pizza Studio. As we stood in line to order, I noticed two other mamas who exchanged kind glances with me. When I got my food, my hands were full with my baby in one arm and a stack of four pizza boxes in the other. My little boy, who was sitting on a high stool, was demanding help to get down at the same time. In a instant, both of those women who I’d seen in line rushed to my side and were helping without me even asking them. One of them, a sweet older lady, walked me out to my car and put the food in my driver’s seat.
That selfless act filled my heart in a way I hadn’t felt in awhile. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in my own life and in all the negative things going on in the world, but that simple interaction re-opened my eyes to the goodness of people—even strangers.
It reminded me that the Christmas spirit is all about simply being aware of others and acting on those impulses to help or thoughts to reach out instead of extinguishing or ignoring them.
