With the craziness of the holidays, it is easy to lose ourselves in the chaos. I find that we get so caught up that we miss out on being together. It can make you enjoy the holidays even less. I decided not to do that this year with our family and my inspiration was The Twelve Days of Christmas.
To help not miss out on the excitement and to savor the time with my kids, we focus on the 12 Days of Christmas. It is the time of the year when we enjoy spending time together, and this list helps us do just that!
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WHY DO THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS?
The other night, we were talking with our kids about their day at school. That led us to have a fun trivia night learning and talking about our government and how it works. The kids had fun talking with us. There were no electronics nor distractions.
I enjoyed that 30 minutes more than any other moment in the past few days. It reminded me as to why I had kids. I wanted to grow with them and teach them. Spending time with these amazing people is something that is too simple to take for granted.
A simple way to spend more time with them is to make the time. I had to decide to make this a priority. It was more important than sports, activities — anything else going on in their crazy lives.
But, I also knew it did not need to be anything that took a lot of time. It did not need to be something that required planning. Instead, it could be simple things. Reading a book, playing a game….anything that just allowed us the opportunity to spend time together.
When the holidays come around, life gets even busier. I did not want us to get sucked up into that again this year. My kids and husband are far too important to miss out on their lives.
I am making my family a priority this holiday season.
No more rushing for the perfect gift or planning parties down to every last detail. Instead, our focus will be on them. Finding different activities, we can do as a family matters more than those other things.
Years from now, I want my kids to look back fondly upon our holidays and recall the fun things I did with them. I want to share our fun stories with my grandkids. I don’t want our memories to be that of mom and dad stressed out or the focus on “things.”
MAKE YOUR LIST
It is easy to make your own 12 Days of Christmas list. You don’t need to print it on fancy paper. If you need ideas or inspiration, you’ll find mine below (you can print one out too, if you would rather use what I’ve created).
Make it unique to your family. You might include a game night or snowball fight on yours. Have fun with your list – but make one! Find a way to spend time with your family and friends in the best ways possible.
Memories are about the things you do rather than the things you give. Remember that this holiday season.
