I love the holiday season as much as the next gal, but there is a lot of pressure to be a mama during this time. There is so much hype surrounding all the little details to make this time magical for our kids. Between Elf on the Shelf, baking cookies, sending out Christmas cards, building snowmen, decorating cookie plates for Santa… there are many activities to be had. Something I learned this year, is that we don’t need to do it all.
We’ve done a few quintessential holiday activities this year: sent cards, made cookies, watched Christmas movies, did crafts and we saw Santa. But do you want to know what else we’ve done? We’ve watched too much TV, we’ve stayed in our pajamas until 9 or 10am, we built forts and read books. Some days we haven’t even left our house because it’s been too cold. There are a lot of expectations during this time of year, but I hope my kids remember the small and cozy moments we’ve had when I ran out of Christmas steam.
The big TikTok trends I’ve been seeing recently depict a classic 90’s childhood Christmas. This gets me in my nostalgic feels and also reminds me that it’s my turn to make this magic for my own children. I find myself thinking that if I don’t do it all, my kids won’t have all those special memories. I totally realize that this is a ridiculous standard to try living up to.
My favorite Christmas memories from childhood don’t involve all the frills. My mom’s “Santa” handwriting is something that stands out to me. She made the letters all swirly and fun! Thirty-three years later, and she’s still doing it! It’s something I plan to do for my kids. I also remember getting our Christmas tree from the tree farm. My siblings and I would pile in the bed of my dad’s pickup truck (hey, it was the 90’s and early 00’s) WITH the tree and ride home with it. It’s one of my favorite memories. We made cookies and received wonderful presents – our first dog, Max was to this day my favorite Christmas gift <3
My point to all this is that our kids are going to remember Christmas with the love that we as parents bring to the holiday. Pick two or three Christmas activities you know you can make happen, and make those tradition. This time is obviously dedicated to our children, but it’s also an opportunity to believe in the magic again ourselves. We only get to experience this extraordinary time with our kids for so long, so try not to stress about doing it all. We are human and doing it all and doing it well is just not possible.
You are doing more than you realize, and you’re doing it beautifully. Your kids will grow up remembering the love you brought to your home and the magic you made come alive every Christmas.
Remember this next time you see a mom on socials who seems like she has it all together during December!
Wishing you all a magical holiday season!
XO,
Kassie
