So... It's "Christmas" time, again...
If it weren't for having the kids, I'd probably remain relatively 'non-fussed' about Christmas...
My best Christmases as an adult were those where I could just fly by the seat of my pants, run off somewhere on a cheap flight at the last minute, and enjoy my travels. Babies = they limit ones ability to do that somewhat...
So instead, we're "home" for Christmas... and it's hot and nasty weather, I feel like I've spent the last week (not to mention the last dollar) running round sorting everything for "the big day"...
It makes me wonder, strangely, about those in the world who do not observe Christmas. Whom to them, it just passes them by, non-eventful and uncelebrated... and makes me question if I could ever do the same. Right now, no, I suppose it wouldn't be "fair" on my children to not enjoy Christmas... However it also then makes me wonder whether Christian kids would love their Christmas day quite as much were they to, instead of receive a tonne of outlandish gifts, wake up on Christmas morning, attend church, then go and serve at a homeless shelter or with the elderly, as to represent their supposed "true" meaning of Christmas?
I think what gets me most is that, even for Christians, Christmas is lost on everyone besides the extremely poor these days... It's gotten RIDICULOUS. 9 year olds are getting iPhones... 4 year olds are getting Wiis, or whatever the hit console for the year is... Parents are spending vast amounts of money on their kids, and, really, what is that setting the kids up for in life? Sure it's "nice" to have "nice" things, but - at Christmas - it just seems that things are taken too far... And anyone who claims they're spoiling their kids "in the name of the Lord" has got to be kidding me... Jesus, had he existed, received very few gifts... and he was the so-called "son of God"... he certainly didn't receive an iPad...
I know myself, have at times, of been guilty of buying my kids "too many presents". Namely to I guess overcompensate for the fact that the paternal side of my childrens' family don't contribute to birthdays and Christmases, and thus I've always felt obliged to "make up" their deficit. But this year, I've been far more realistic. My children are 3 and 1... They're not going to complain if they get 1 present, or 10... They're not going to complain if they had $50 spent on them or $500.
As always, we've observed our traditional "charity" part - sending a gift to one of our "Post Pals" (a correspondence site for extremely to terminally ill kids) as we do every year, and it's explained to Tyler that we are sending a present to a little boy or girl who is very sick and in hospital. I guess that way, I'm instilling a sense of giving into my children, and that beyond those whom are close to us... It's something I've always done since I was a child myself (we used to do the "Wishing Tree", or go to the Salvo's with bundles of stuff for them to distribute)...
I just like to hope that, with all the receiving the kids will be doing, they still recognise there's a significance to giving as well... Lest they be lost in the overwhelmingly selfish day that Christmas normally seems to become for most youngsters...
Until next time... Deck The Halls ;)
