Making Christmas memories

We are beyond thrilled to be preparing for our first Christmas in our new home.  We went out a few weeks ago to a local tree farm to cut down our tree, Kole and I made cinnamon ornaments, the stockings are hung, and the ham is defrosting in the fridge for Christmas Eve.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Christmas lately and I am always amazed at how stressed out people let them get over the holidays.  Did they buy enough presents?  Bake enough cookies?  Make enough plans with family?  To us, Christmas is all about making memories with Kole.

Will he remember whether he got 2 or 20 presents?  Probably not.  But, he will remember waking up on Christmas morning and being excited.  Will he remember if I baked 2 dozen or 10 dozen cookies?  No.  He will just remember that he likes "those cookies with the Hershey kisses on top."  And he will remember baking them with Dan and I.  Will he remember if the house was totally decked out in green and red?  Probably not.  But, he will remember hiking out at the local Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree.  He will remember his grandparents visiting.  He will remember meeting Santa at the Farmer's Market.

We want Kole (and the new baby) to learn that Christmas is more than just presents.  It's about spending time together as a family.  We are working on making our own family traditions.  Stress is not a part of that.

I'm looking forward to making more gifts next year.  I've found numerous cute ideas and look forward to working on them.  I've found more knitting projects than I'll have time for.  I personally think that a gift that is made with love and by hand means so much more than one that was purchased at 8 PM on Thanksgiving day on super sale instead of spending time with family.

Perhaps I'm abnormal for feeling like this.  But, this year I feel at peace.  There is no stress.  In fact, we already have Kole's birthday party planned, invitations ready to go in the mail, and presents bought.  We also have gifts for Kole from his baby sister for when she is born.

Just remember....that gaming system will soon be obsolete.  Batteries die.  Toys become a distant memory.  But, the gift of time spent together is not soon forgotten.