I don’t know exactly when Christmas lost its magic for me. When it started feeling more like a chore than anything else, but around this time of year, I’m usually over Christmas before it even starts. Much to the dismay of my family.
When I was a kid, my parents would go above and beyond to make the holidays truly magical. My mom especially loved Christmas and her excitement for it was infectious. We had multiple Christmas trees in the house and other decorations here and there. They would spoil me with presents and love. The holidays were great!
So where did it all go wrong? Why did I become such a Bah Humbug?
My attitude usually starts to form in mid-November when I start seeing the first of the Christmas commercials. That’s when the heavy sighing, eye-rolling, and proclamations of “can we at least wait until AFTER Thanksgiving?” begin. The first of the terrible commercial reminders is that coffee commercial where the brother comes home and his sister opens the door. He acts like he has the wrong house and she yells, “SIS-TARR!” UHG! The way she says that word! I shake my head, but I’m not truly disgusted until the end when she sticks the bow on her brother and says “you’re my present this year.” Head -> desk.
I’m also not a fan of holiday music. That’s probably putting it nicely. Long story, but suffice it to say, I don’t really like to listen to the same 12 songs, sung over and over in slightly different ways. Sorry. I like a little more diversity in my music selection.
As far as decorations go, I stick with minimal decorations. Tree. Stockings. Done. I’d even be fine not putting up a tree. It’s a lot of work and it’s only up for a month when it has to be packed right back up again. Seems like a waste. I don’t decorate my wardrobe either. I own no holiday themed clothing, not even socks, and I’m just fine with that.
My husband is usually the one driving the decorating. He can’t wait to put up Christmas lights on the house. It makes him happy and he does do a superb job, but I stay inside and keep warm and listen intently for crashing, thudding, or any other sound that might mean he’s fallen off the roof.
I can’t continue to go on this way though! I have to end my Bah Humbugish ways and get excited about the season again! I have 2 toddlers who need to experience the magic. I want them to be excited about this time of year, like I once was. And so, I am on a mission to make it warm, fun, and full of yuletide gay! I have begun by stealing some holiday activity ideas from my fellow contributor, Megan. Included on my agenda:
- Read some Christmas/winter-time stories. (If you haven’t read The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, you really should. My boys love it.)
- Christmas song dance party and sing-a-long. I’m sure I’ve still got the lyrics memorized in some compartment of my brain.
- Christmas craft day! I will be cutting some trees out of cardboard for them to paint. I’ve gotta find my glitter!
- Zoo lights with friends.
- Oh, and Christmas cookies! Is buying the pre-mixed tube dough from the grocery store cheating? Probably. I’m off to find a cookie recipe!
Okay. I think that’s about all the holiday spirit I’m going to be able to force out of myself this year, but that’s okay. I think that’s a pretty good start. Luckily my boys are only 2 and their expectations of Christmas and how magical I should be making it at this point is low. I can build upon this for next year when we have the added challenge of introducing Santa (without totally lying to them) while avoiding the elf on the shelf business (that sounds super exhausting!).
Have you struggled with the Bah Humbugs? How did you get rid of them?
