1 Mother 2 Another

Every year Christmas seems to get here
sooner, and my lists seem to get longer: my to-do list, my shopping
list, my list of gift recipients, are joined this year by my list
of Things to Do for the School Winter Party list, to name just one.
The holidays start sooner, but are on us before we know it.


And I am in quite a dilemma every year: one of my love languages is
Gifts, so Christmas for me is license to give a ton of gifts to
people without seeming over the top or excessive. On the other
hand, I’m uncomfortable with what Christmas has become around
here, and I keep wanting to dig down through the wrapping paper and
tinsel and myriad of children’s shows about Christmas that
spend an entire half-hour celebrating Christmas without once
mentioning Jesus, and find the heart of Christmas again.

Santa Claus has given me agita since my
girls were born. We definitely have Santa in our household, but I
grow more and more uneasy every year with having to lie to our
children. Maddie asks me point-blank questions sometimes, and I
simply say, “I will not lie to you, so be careful what
questions you ask me if you don’t want to know the
answer.” So far she’s backed off, but I think this
might be the year she voices her suspicions out loud and the
illusion is shattered.


I recently read a fantastic blog,href="http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2011/11/29/the-christmas-conundrum">
“The Christmas Conundrum” which says
everything I’m feeling way better than I could ever hope to.
Taking Santa out of the picture, cutting back on gifts, focusing on
the true meaning of the season: she tackles all these things
eloquently and thoughtfully. I read the blog several days ago and
I’m still chewing on it.


What do you think? If you celebrate it, how do you keep Christmas
meaningful in your house?