When I think of Christmas, I think of family. Christmas meant going to my grandparents’ home on Christmas Eve with my aunts, uncles, and cousins to feast on an abundance of food (always several different types of fish), play games, and laugh. We’d sing Christmas songs led by my uncle, who sang totally off-key. We made memories. (more…)
Christmas holds so many wonderful memories of family and Christmas past that when Andrew asked me to share something about Christmas especially in regard to families and children, I found myself reliving so many joyous Christmas memories, both from my childhood and my daughter’s, recent and decades ago. It was a tough choice but in the end I chose to go way back to my own childhood and an overworked Dad and Mom who never failed to bring the magic and joy of the holiday season alive each and every year. (more…)
Even though my oldest son was born on December 12th, let’s face it—that first Christmas was sort of a bust from his end, and the second wasn’t much better. I mean, long hours, lots of people, too much noise, too much excitement, and too many people not-the-mama or want-the-daddy are trying to hold you—how awesome can Christmas really be for the very very tiny? The adults are losing their minds. “Ohmigosh! It’s a toddler in a Santa hat, couldn’t you just die!” And seriously—you add a kitten to the picture or a puppy or hell, even a gold fish in a bowl with red and green rocks, and, yes, sugar shock will set in and we will really die of absolute cute—and what a way to go!
But for the little kid? (more…)
I grew up in a household with two non-observant (culturally) Jewish parents, but that didn’t stop us from singing Christmas carols or even having a Christmas tree. To say I was a bit confused about religious holidays as a kid is probably an understatement: I was totally lost! As I got older, I came to realize that Jews have an innate need to be part of the “feeling” of the Christmas holiday season. I think this is part of the reason that Chanukah, one of the least important Jewish holidays, has become a fixture of American holiday culture. Perhaps it also explains Jews’ uneasy relationship with Chanukah. But to only look this far in understanding Jews’ relationship to holidays is to miss what I believe is the most important part of the equation: the celebration of family and the need to remember those who have come before us. (more…)
Andy, thank you for having me today, and thank you even more for organizing this holiday event. Christmas can get so hectic and it’s nice to take a minute or five to reflect on what a special time of year it is.
Christmas has always been the most important holiday for my family. We have all sorts of traditions that make it wonderful, but this year I will be missing out on most of them. This year is the first year I won’t be going home for Christmas. I am sad to be away from family over the holidays (although they are coming down to see me on Boxing Day, so I can’t complain too much). And this year marks the year that our little family is growing. (more…)
This weekend we did a lot of the pre-Christmas things we needed to get ready for the holiday. There have been a lot of fun times with ‘lil q in the last 26 months, but this weekend was among the best. We started by taking pictures to send ‘lil q’s mother. (I’m not sure what else to call her – surrogate sounds so impersonal and she is not a business dealing, but a friend and I won’t name her because she deserve her privacy so she’s ‘lil q’s mother).
Despite a bit of a cold, ‘lil was in a great mood all weekend. Saturday we got up early, had bagels and went shopping. We didn’t get a lot accomplished, but we had fun poking around the outdoor mall, looking for the ‘hidden’ speakers that played the Christmas music and then getting hot chocolate at ‘the coffee place’ because home wasn’t fun enough I guess. Ultimately I had to wait until she went to sleep to go back out shopping and get a few gifts.
Today got our Christmas tree. We’ve gone shopping with ‘lil q for a tree the last three years. The first one she was barely 2 months old. Last year she could barely walk. This year – well this year she could walk and talk, but seemed less interested in finding a tree than in playing among them. Have a look: (I’ve tried to make it fit on the page, but I can’t shrink the video – if you click the two arrows in the bottom right corner of the video screen it will fit on the page as you watch.)
Fun times. Next week we make Christmas Cookies. 🙂
Christmas Rituals
My own memories of Christmas are very fond ones. I grew up in a large family (my parents have four siblings each) with lots of cousins, and on Christmas Eve everyone met either in my grandparents’ flat or ours. It was always crowded, as well as a lot of coming and going, but I loved the bustle as a kid. Everyone talked, and laughed, and of course ate too much.
My husband’s family celebrated Christmas very differently. It was only him and his parents and everything was quiet and done in a completely different fashion. So, when we celebrated our first Christmas as a family, we had completely contrary feelings on how to deal with everything. Add to the mix that the grandparents all wanted to see their grandchildren on Christmas and things grew hectic. (more…)
Growing up in blended families meant I didn’t have the traditional family holiday. It’s only gotten worse as we grew and married. Through all the travel to attend the 4-5 Christmas ‘present events’ we go to each year, finding the time to do fun things together with two kids can be a challenge. We have a few rituals that we always do together but the hustle and bustle can get the better of us.
There are 2 we never, ever fail to do. Bundled up in boots and warm, waterproof coats, armed with cocoa… we brave the elements to find the perfect family tree. No rain, mud, sleet, snow, or this year’s holy crap my face is frozen wind chill keeps us from exploring a local tree farm to find just the right one. My favorite tradition involves heat, though.
From the first year my daughter was 10 months old and sitting in her high chair playing with cookie cutters, we’ve baked Santa fresh, homemade sugar cookies every year on Christmas Eve. It doesn’t matter where we are, I haul along the ingredients and schedule in a few hours for the kids and me to shape, bake, and decorate. We have a special plate and mug too. After the kids decorate two dozen cookies into iced, sugared, and sprinkled ‘masterpieces’ they each pick a cookie and put it on Santa’s plate. Daddy doesn’t get in on the baking tradition, other than as an admirer, as far as they knew… until last year. (more…)
Hello all you wonderful people who have stopped by Andrew Gordon’s wonderful blog to read all about how Christmas has effected each of us in a special and unique way. I am going to talk briefly about my son. On this day, 
December 13, four years ago I met the sweetest, most adorable thirteen year old boy in the world and fell in love.
People I meet now often ask me to tell them how I came to the decision of adoption because it seems like such a wonderful thing to do for him and how giving I am etc… And I respond by saying it was a completely selfish thing I did, because I was only thinking about how I would DIE if he was not in my life. My love for this child was so intense I could not imagine another minute without him in my life or in our family. And I still fee like that. (more…)
For much of my children’s childhoods money was an issue. I was a single parent and though I earned a decent living, that income had to pay a mortgage for a home big enough to house us all. It had to feed, clothe, and educate three little people – oh, and me too! Can’t have a naked bookkeeper balancing your ledgers! We weren’t on the poverty line, by any means, but I had to be careful and plan for Christmas months in advance. That planning usually started in the post-Christmas sales!
Despite thinking about the next Christmas as soon as the current one was over, my gifts were rarely extravagant. I decided very early on in my parenting life that my children would benefit more from my spending time with them than spending money on them. Most of my gifts for each child centered around things we could do together or as a family. I made a lot of their gifts. Anything from writing and illustrating a story with them as the main character, to wooden toys, puzzles, and dress-up costumes complete with tiaras and capes! (more…)