December 14th, 2009 in Featured, Lifestyle

How to Take Christmas to a Whole New Level

20091214-christmas-present

Our children love certain toys or brands and they make their lists for sure, however, I suggest that we parents do something a little extra special at Christmas.

Christmas is such an exciting time. Family and friends gather together to laugh, eat great food and share gifts with each other. What could be better? There is one way parents can make Christmas even better and that is by giving their children a present that is a tradition.

My parents always gave us presents that we had asked for however my mother always bought us a new pair of pajamas. We were just as excited to see what type or color we would be getting that year. It gave warmth to our Christmas celebration and deepened the connection we had with our mother. My father saw how happy we became, even as teenagers when we opened the special gift from “MOM”, so he decided to start his own tradition. He bought five different types of Scratch n’ Win Lotto tickets for each of us and after all the other presents were opened we sat at the dinner table and used pennies to scratch away. We have continued this tradition throughout boyfriends and now husbands.

It is really wonderful to watch our faces after we have opened the gifts because we all know what is coming next! One year, during the last recession, we lost the two restaurants that my family owned. There were no presents under the tree that year, dinner was tapered down, and there were no Scratch n’ Wins to scratch. Going without the presents was easy, and eating a little less was fine. The one thing we all felt melancholy about was the fact that we could no longer do our special tradition after dinner. It’s silly, really. We never win much, maybe ten dollars, but it was the consistency we missed and the hollers of, “Whoo hoo, I won a dollar!” that we missed. Of course we had other traditions that we continued like playing board games until the wee hours of the night, but it just goes to show how special and cherished traditions are for people and children especially.

So, here are some gift ideas that you can use to begin a family tradition and add more warmth to your family’s Christmas experience.

  1. Books, novels
  2. Calendars
  3. Funny or colorful socks
  4. Crafty toys
  5. Scientific toys
  6. Bookmarks
  7. Slippers
  8. Christmas ornaments
  9. Wallets
  10. Something with the 1st letter of your child’s name (pens, pads of paper, notebooks, pencils, books, socks, picture frames, calendar, key chain, wallet) The ideas are endless and will always keep your child guessing!

Christmas is a magical time where family is the focus. Deepen the bonds you share with your children by adding a special tradition. I promise you that when your child remembers holidays past, in ten years time, it won’t be the toy they asked for that they will remember, it will be the one that their mom or dad always gave them.

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WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY

ErinKurt

Erin Kurt, B.Ed, spent 16 years as a teacher and nanny around the world. Now, she applies her expertise as a parenting expert and author of Juggling Family Life. You can learn more about Erin and her simple, loving parenting method, and subscribe to her weekly parenting tips e-zine at ErinParenting.com.

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  • Stephen says on December 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am

    Hi Erin,

    Always love the lifehacks in my google reader – so many starred at this stage I may need to do some pruning!

    Just wanted to let you know about a site we’ve built that may be of interest to you – in light of this article – where parents can get a photo of Santa in their living room for 3.99!

    The site is http://www.santawasinmyhouse.com and it allows parents to upload a photo of their living room/den/etc with the tree & decorations up and select from one of our Santa poses.

    Imagine the look in the kids faces on Christmas morning when they see a photo of Santa in their house!

    Thanks
    Stehpen

  • Patrick Ng says on December 14th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    Thank you very much! Not too late to start with my 5 years old boy.

  • mike says on December 14th, 2009 at 9:33 pm

    scratch tickets….wow!

    BORING

    I hope we can install more intimate traditions than this, people…

    yo

  • All Women Stalker says on December 14th, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    I think giving crafty gifts is something worth looking into. It’s a great addition to the commercial gifts we give to our families.

    -Denise

  • ErinKurt says on December 15th, 2009 at 2:45 am

    Definitely never too late to start – your son will love it, Patrick:)

  • Mia says on December 15th, 2009 at 6:13 am

    I would love to do a Christmas where nobody buys anything for each other. Instead we give all the money we would have spent to help poor families in our neighbourhood and in developing countries. I am soooo sick of buying things for my younger brother (age 12) that he doesn’t actually want, and doesn’t appreciate. I hate guessing what people want and then spending money on it, knowing that chances are I ‘guessed wrong’ – and some poor kid in Tanzania could have really used the $20 that I just wasted on an unwanted gift. I’m badgering my family into telling me exactly what to buy them for Christmas – if they tell me what they want I won’t feel anxious about what I buy and ‘wasting’ money on something that isn’t wanted.

    I think crafts get a little cheesy when the kids/relatives grow up a bit – unless you are a crafty, creative person who loves making things or sewing/knitting. I’m not!

  • Cristina says on December 15th, 2009 at 6:35 am

    Great ideas! I will try the pajama thing for my mother.

  • Fernanda says on December 15th, 2009 at 7:32 am

    Thanks for sharing! You are right, those naive bonding moments are really what keeps coming to memory, many years after the Christmas gifts got their way into the Salvation Arm bin!

  • Jacklyn Pettus says on December 15th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    I always get one “joke” gift for each member of the family. My bachelor son isn’t much of a cook.This year he’s is getting a cookbook called “A Man, A Can and a Plan.” I wouldn’t use any of those recipes, but they’ve got to be better for him than the frozen burritos he throws in the microwave!

  • laptop ac adapters says on December 16th, 2009 at 12:32 am

    Great Advise! I am going to shop for this holiday now. Not too late to start now.

  • Richard says on December 16th, 2009 at 9:52 am

    Thanks for the ideas! I think I have the ideal candidates in mind for each one of them. Perfect!

  • Fen says on December 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    My grandmother always gave us lotto tickets to scratch, and as a kid there is nothing more fun that scratching away all those little boxes. It was just something little that we normally wouldn’t be able to do, and it brought all the cousins together (though sometimes fights would ensue!). It seems so silly now, but all the little traditions, like opening a present on Christmas Eve, or getting a new pair of slippers (my Mom can pick out some pretty funny slippers!), really made the holidays special. Its also a great way to start a conversation at a Christmas party, since everyone will have different variations of traditions to share.

  • Bargain Junkie says on December 16th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    DO IT YOURSELF
    If you’re so inclined, you can show some originality with a hand-crafted present.
    • Benni went to one of those pay-by-the-hour pottery studios, and made a beautiful bowl for his partner.
    • Kim made me two stunning bracelets out of vintage rhinestone and Bakelite buttons. These one-of-a-kind pieces are real attention-getters, and I crave attention!
    • One Christmas, Kim and her sister made spectacular wreaths out of twigs, pine cones, dried flowers, berries and ribbons for all their friends. When I think of the long hours of patient labor that went into this project, I get overwhelmed with fatigue. Fortunately, not all of my friends are as slothful as I am.
    • Brenda picks up small ceramic containers at yard sales. When she needs to bring a house gift, she takes a cutting from one of her succulents, plants it in one of these pots, then tops it with a decorative pebble mulch.

  • Jogn berg says on December 16th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Cool post, thank you for the info – I dont really ever post on these thingy’s but enjoyed the info. Awesome stuff!, I bookmarked your blog! thai silk

  • nickyQ says on December 17th, 2009 at 4:15 am

    The idea sounds great!

  • Michelle Norton says on December 17th, 2009 at 5:20 am

    I never thought of what we did as a tradition but of course it is. As children we always got new nightwear on Christmas eve, so after our baths we were clean and new for Christmas. this is something me and my sisters have carried on with our own children. Now I wrap up the PJ’s and my kids open this ‘present’ on Christmas Eve. I started a NEW tradition 2 years ago that everyone really enjoys. At Christmas Dinner we make predictions for the next year and write them in a Christmas card which gets packed away with the decorations. Next year at the start of dinner we open it up and see what we got right and wrong.

  • Erin says on December 17th, 2009 at 4:37 pm

    It really is about the time together, traditions that we make our own. The celebrations of Christmas transition over the years, but the meaning remains the same.

  • Erin Kurt says on December 17th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Reading these posts makes me feel all warm and cozy! Loved hearing about all your special traditions and could sense the warmth and happiness they bring to each one of you. Thanks so much for sharing!

  • Cogiterium says on December 19th, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    Here, here! Invest in tradtions and experiences with your kids. It’ll pay more dividends than any toy or gadget ever could.

  • Karen says on January 25th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    The reason for Christmas — the birth of Christ — attending services — thanking Him as a family for his many blessings — traditions –

    All else is relatively meaningless without this center.

  • Erin says on February 19th, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    This past Christmas I took a page out of my boyfriend’s family tradition. Each Christmas morning they would wake up to find their stockings at the foot of their bed filed with something to: wear, eat, play with, and read.

    I did this with my children and they loved it! My son still wears his Christmas socks. :)

  • Erin Kurt says on February 20th, 2010 at 7:00 am

    I Love the stocking idea! That is such a great tradition – I will be sure to keep that in my mind for next year:)

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