I grew up in the 90's when the spice girls dominated the world and Blockbuster video was king. When we were younger Christmas was a BIG deal! I remember it being about family with the Christmas cake and jammies the night before Santa was due. In the morning we had to go wake mum and dad then had to wait patiently for the sound of the Christmas bells on the banister which signals Santa has indeed been. Even Christmas dinner I remember being with family.
I remember the tears as my whole magical world slammed it's doors in my face. That was me. I was evicted from my childhood almost. In one fell swoop my teeth were no longer a commodity, my chocolate eggs weren't dropped of by my bed by a giant bunny and the elves might as well have put me permanently on the naughty list for all the difference it made to me. The fairies were dead, the magic was gone ... and Christmas just became 'meh'.
When I had Agent M, I got to create the magic for myself. You almost get a second wind when you have your own kids. Like you can do all these magical things and you get to play along. I'm not gonna lie, going to see Santa in his grotto with Agent M made me goosebumpy as it flooded me with the memories if when my sister and I went to visit him. You don't actually realise how important all those little moments were till your older and seeing them through the eyes of your own babies.
You also don't realise how important they were to you till they are all gone. All over again.
Now M is 10 and knows the truth, Christmas has gone back to being just another seriously expensive day. Last year was our first Santa free Christmas and even M said it just didn't feel right. I think as well as the magic, we lost everything we loved about the whole festive season. The letters and subsequent visit to see Mr Kringle. The treats left out the night before, the reindeer food ... we lost it all.
This year however I have decided to try and reclaim the spark by coming up with new festive traditions. Ones surrounding more the family side rather than the Santa side. I want to feel that wonderful warm feeling again and I think traditions are the way to go.
Some ideas are ...
- Go ice-skating
- Watch one festive movie a day for the 12 days of Christmas
- Build and decorate a gingerbread house
- Visit a Christmas market
- Make one new bauble for the tree
- Buy and proudly wear a festive jumper
- Make our own mince pies
- Bake cookies
- Create a hot chocolate bar
- Christmas eve jammies and movie
- Donate old toys to charity
- Take a holiday photo by the tree
- Try every Christmas drink in Costa/Starbucks etc.
I'm hoping that slowly but surely we will begin to enjoy Christmas again and bring back the magic :)
Are there any traditions you and your family have? How have you coped with your kids discovering the truth?
This year however I have decided to try and reclaim the spark by coming up with new festive traditions. Ones surrounding more the family side rather than the Santa side. I want to feel that wonderful warm feeling again and I think traditions are the way to go.
Some ideas are ...
- Go ice-skating
- Watch one festive movie a day for the 12 days of Christmas
- Build and decorate a gingerbread house
- Visit a Christmas market
- Make one new bauble for the tree
- Buy and proudly wear a festive jumper
- Make our own mince pies
- Bake cookies
- Create a hot chocolate bar
- Christmas eve jammies and movie
- Donate old toys to charity
- Take a holiday photo by the tree
- Try every Christmas drink in Costa/Starbucks etc.
I'm hoping that slowly but surely we will begin to enjoy Christmas again and bring back the magic :)
Are there any traditions you and your family have? How have you coped with your kids discovering the truth?
