The Big Day

One of the most intimidating things about being a parent is handling Christmas. First of all, there's the whole Santa thing. I want my children to believe in Santa, but at the same time I have trouble just flat-out lying to them. I got over my initial guilt pretty quickly, but sometimes it still seems a little weird.


It was also overwhelming to realize that suddenly it was up to ME to create holiday traditions. Chip and I had created our own holiday traditions over the years, but those went out the window once we had kids. (An adults-only party on Christmas night? Not gonna happen.) We both had our own memories of Christmases past, but we had to figure out which traditions would make the cut for our new family. Will Santa wrap presents or assemble them? Will there be stockings for everyone or just the kids? Will there be a big meal or not?

It didn't take long to realize that the only thing that matters about Christmas is that we are together with our family and friends. This year, as in the past few, all the grandparents, aunts and uncles came over on Christmas Eve to eat, drink, and help Santa assemble the gifts. And they were all on hand at the crack of dawn on the 25th to see the kids react to our hard work from the night before. It was perfect, and I hope it is the tradition that endures.

I'll keep posting Christmas pictures and stories for the next few days, because I'm not ready to close the book on my holiday just yet. Merry Christmas!