Happy Christmas
Dec. 26th, 2025 05:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spryngI made it through. All the planning, present buying, wrapping, cooking, preparation, etc came to fruition at 7am Christmas morning when four excited kids opened their stockings and then a few hours later tore through their presents.
We adults had decided not to get each other anything, although my SIL still snuck some small things into stockings and I still got my brother a "What the Fuck" fidget toy. Still, the absence of presents for us was not noticeable, or if it was at all, it was the relief. Watching and enjoying the kids opening their presents was the real joy, if I'm allowed to be that cliche. I sat next to 4yo and helped him unwrap his and pointed out who had given him what so he could shout his thanks.
And the moments when you saw the real delight -- ugh, love it, gonna miss it when they're older. I was listening to a You're Wrong About podcast episode about the history of Christmas, and how yes, it's been thoroughly commercialized, but first it was turned from a wild party holiday to a children-oriented one and wow, yeah. I've really come to see that since having kids.
Also can I just say I love this age? We had a 3yo, 4yo, and two 9yos and they all played together so well. Sometimes the 3yo would make toddler decisions (mine!) but 4yo handled it (or came and got us) and there were many times I looked around and realized they were off playing somewhere (outside, the attic) and I didn't have to worry. It was great. I got to talk to adults and make my contributions to the meal in (relative) peace.
The only bad part of the whole day was the fact that I had barely gotten 4 hours of intermittent sleep on the floor of the living room, because 4yo was up late with a cough and then once he settled, CG came out claiming she couldn't sleep. Then I had to be up again at 5am to make breakfast (that cinnamon roll focaccia recipe that went around r/breadit earlier this year) and let's just say the rest of the day I was trying to enjoy while in an exhausted fog.
It was, overall, a day to realize how lucky I am that my parents have this house where they can host Christmas (we... could in theory, but some family members have bad cat allergies, so), that my brother and his family are willing to come out here, that all our kids are close in age and get along, that we get along, and we can make this happen. My parents are getting older, and boy could I tell this year, and I don't know how many Christmases they've got left in them, especially the hosting kind, but at least we had this one. <3
We adults had decided not to get each other anything, although my SIL still snuck some small things into stockings and I still got my brother a "What the Fuck" fidget toy. Still, the absence of presents for us was not noticeable, or if it was at all, it was the relief. Watching and enjoying the kids opening their presents was the real joy, if I'm allowed to be that cliche. I sat next to 4yo and helped him unwrap his and pointed out who had given him what so he could shout his thanks.
And the moments when you saw the real delight -- ugh, love it, gonna miss it when they're older. I was listening to a You're Wrong About podcast episode about the history of Christmas, and how yes, it's been thoroughly commercialized, but first it was turned from a wild party holiday to a children-oriented one and wow, yeah. I've really come to see that since having kids.
Also can I just say I love this age? We had a 3yo, 4yo, and two 9yos and they all played together so well. Sometimes the 3yo would make toddler decisions (mine!) but 4yo handled it (or came and got us) and there were many times I looked around and realized they were off playing somewhere (outside, the attic) and I didn't have to worry. It was great. I got to talk to adults and make my contributions to the meal in (relative) peace.
The only bad part of the whole day was the fact that I had barely gotten 4 hours of intermittent sleep on the floor of the living room, because 4yo was up late with a cough and then once he settled, CG came out claiming she couldn't sleep. Then I had to be up again at 5am to make breakfast (that cinnamon roll focaccia recipe that went around r/breadit earlier this year) and let's just say the rest of the day I was trying to enjoy while in an exhausted fog.
It was, overall, a day to realize how lucky I am that my parents have this house where they can host Christmas (we... could in theory, but some family members have bad cat allergies, so), that my brother and his family are willing to come out here, that all our kids are close in age and get along, that we get along, and we can make this happen. My parents are getting older, and boy could I tell this year, and I don't know how many Christmases they've got left in them, especially the hosting kind, but at least we had this one. <3
