Enjoy Every Moment of Christmas!

Christmas is full of wonder for little ones!

By Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

If you have little ones, you are in an AMAZING season of life! Christmas is especially full of wonder by the time they are about 2 years old. It is incredible to look at Christmas through a child's eyes! Their wonder, excitement, faith and joy are inspiring.

Keeping Sight of What Matters

It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of buying gifts, baking, wrapping presents and decorating that we miss the small joys of the season. Take time today to create memories with your children - make some fun pictures, pile in the car to drive around looking at Christmas lights, wrap your kids up in ribbon and make a game out of it! Don't let the holiday demands that you place on yourself rob you of the joy in each moment.

Remember what Christmas is really about. It isn't about glittery trees or fancy gifts. It's not about a perfectly roasted turkey or plates of delicious cookies. Fundamentally Christmas is about a baby being born.  It's about a tiny family of 2 becoming 3 in an event that would change the course of human history. So take time to celebrate YOUR family, the 2 that became 3, or 4, or more!

The Guy in the Red Suit

Children watching the lighting of the Advent Candle at church.

Every family has to decide for itself how to handle gift giving and Santa Clause. We chose to teach our children from the beginning that their presents came from Mom and Dad. We talked about Saint Nicholas and the importance of giving to others, but we sought to maintain the focus of Christmas on Christ. I remember the Christmas I learned the truth about Santa Clause when I was a little girl. I was seven years old, and absolutely devastated! It ruined Christmas for me that year. I never wanted my children to go through that, so we just never made a big deal out of Santa.

Nevertheless, to this day any child who is at home in our family on Christmas morning has a SPECIAL gift sitting out next to his or her stocking on Christmas morning. It might be the video game he has been begging for, or the new cell phone or computer she needs. Some years it was a Lego set or a special doll. Last year for my son it was a hunting rifle that had belonged to his grandfather. I'm thankful we still have two children at home this Christmas!

Some families have a VERY special gift this year!

Make Memories That You'll Treasure

When all is said and done, the gifts opened, the paper thrown away, what will you be left with? Will you remember the look on your husband's face when he opened his special present? Will you have a mental snapshot of the delight on your little one's face as she opened her gifts? Take time to savor each gift, each moment, each surprise. Christmas is day full of magic, so open your heart, slow down, and take in each magical moment.

Sometimes we're so busy trying to record each moment that we don't actually get to enjoy it! Recording the memories is great, but be sure to enjoy them as they occur. 

All of us in the ANM family wish YOUR family a wonderful, memory-filled Christmas!