I hate winter.
But I love Christmas.
I love the lights.
I love the tree.
I love the smell of pine needles.
The feel of the fireplace.
I love Gene Autry, Bing Crosby and David Bowie, Mariah Carey, and Harry Connick Jr.
I love Rudolph and March of the Wooden Soldiers and It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story and Love Actually.
But every year, Christmas sneaks up on me and then blows right past me.
I don’t make time to enjoy the season.
To experience it.
So neither do my kids.
Until this year.
This year, for Christmas, I am giving my children the gift of the Christmas experience.
Because the build up, and the season, is the really enjoyable part.
Now it won’t be perfect…
We will still have our decapitated nativity scene, compliments of Number 4.
But the decorations are out.
The lights are almost all up.
Now, to enjoy the next 24 days.
It’s time for…the Christmas Bucket List.
Yep.
I’ve got a Christmas Bucket list for my kids.
They are growing up too fast.
Number 1 and 2 have already lost some of their Christmas spirit.
I want to preserve it for all the kids.
Number 3 is eight years old already. It’s only a matter of time before some jerky kid at school bursts the Santa bubble.
So this may be the last Christmas where the 5 younger ones truly believe.
Unless I start now.
If I start now, I can instill the magic of Christmas, no matter who Santa is.
So here is my 2013 Christmas with the Kids Bucket List.
1. Bake Christmas cookies
Each of the kids will pick out their own kind of cookie to make so we have a variety.
2. Go Christmas Caroling (and deliver our cookies).
Yep. I want to bring back the Christmas Carols.
I want my children to greet the neighbors and some of their friends with a smile, a song, and a box of cookies.
I want to spread the spirit.
3. Make ornaments.
We did this a couple years ago with pine cones.
Last night we decorated our tree. As soon as the pine cone ornaments were pulled out of the box, the kids got so excited.
“Remember when we made THESE?!?!”
My parents still have a couple ornaments that I made as a kid on their tree. And I still get excited when I see those.
4. Have a cookie swap.
I want to invite some of the kids friends over for a cookie swap.
What kid doesn’t like cookies?
And how cool to exchange ones you made yourself?
And if I invite their friends over, then they will force their parents to create a memory and make cookies with them too!
This will take some planning, but I’m excited for this one!
5. Make a popcorn and cranberry chain for the tree.
I’ve always wanted to do this, but I’ve never done it.
It has disaster potential, but I still want to go for it.
6. Make a gingerbread house. One for each kid.
I’m dreading this one. It will take some discipline to actually accomplish. But the kids LOVE doing these things.
My parents have made one with them, and a couple of the kids have made them in school.
But I’ve never done it at home.
Time to suck it up.
7. Write one Christmas card to a person of their choice. And mail it.
Everyone loves a Christmas card.
8. Start, and maintain, an advent calendar.
I’ve never done this. Better get on this one today.
9. Buy gifts for a family in need.
I don’t know exactly how we are going to do this one yet.
But I really want to do it.
I want to teach my kids that Christmas is about giving. Not receiving.
10. Make sure the kids know the true story of Christmas.
Because they don’t right now. And that’s not good.
11. Put on a Christmas play.
We’ve got enough kids to pull it off, and I have a budding film director in Number 2.
Why not put them all to good use?
12. Map out the houses with the best Christmas lights, and go for a drive.
13. Be present on Christmas Eve.
I am always running around on Christmas Eve like a crazy person and wrapping presents until 2 in the morning.
This year I’m going to sit down with my family on Christmas Eve and actually enjoy it.
Have all my presents purchased/made/whatever, and wrapped by December 20th.
Better get a move on.
24 days and counting!
Hi there! This is a great post. So far as a family in need, you could probably get a lead from your school nurse – ours organizes a tree with ornaments, for teachers to select.
Each ornament has age, gender, and interest. If not the nurse, your local civics groups: Kiwanis, Rotary, lions, masons, etc.
I look forward to reading the follow up.
Good luck,
Sara
Lovely. I miss having little ones at Christmas. Mine are all now high school/college ages, and it’s not nearly as much fun. Almost makes me wish for a grandbaby….ALMOST!!! lol Your list is very similar to what we use to do–minus the gingerbread houses. I never did tackle that one, but we did go caroling and take cookies to people, and make cards for the senior centers and deliver them and buy gifts for angel tree kids and so on…. Now just getting them all together for a meal is about all we can manage.
Enjoy every minute of the next 24 days. It WILL fly by, so don’t miss a single second!
I truly enjoy reading your posts. It makes me realize how I need to slow down and enjoy my children while they are still young. I especially love this post because I feel as though we rush through the holiday season as one big to do list. I am going to borrow some of your great ideas above – really love the cookie swap idea. Did those before kids but with adults and they were fun. Thanks for all of your great posts; I look forward to reading them 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Hello, Love your post. I had this feeling a few years ago and created a similar bucket list. It is has been so nice to experience the season with my children rather than watch it fly buy. Don’t forget to watch the classic Christmas movies! My kids love seeing the movies that I used to watch as a kid. Also, instead of an advent calendar I started book presents. I wrap up 50 books (2 for each child for the 25 days until Christmas) and starting Dec. 1st they open a book each night to read. On Christmas Day they open the last two books in the box. You may want to consider one book a night and take turns selecting the present because it sounds like you have a big crew!
Good luck with your bucket list this year. I am sure you will complete it and even add to it!
When you said that you were going to make a neighborhood of gingerbread houses, you brought back a memory from the 90’s. I was living in Mobile Alabama at the time and went to a fantastic craft show. A very sweet lady at the show made little houses out of graham crackers and piped icing. Each house had a small ribbon loop glued into the seam of the roof. She would sit and pipe on a name for you. I loved these!!! They’ve all since broke 🙁 I think that this year I will be making a batch of new ones with my last little one for our tree this year. 🙂
Awesome! We got our stuff up early, too. I can’t wait to spend the rest of the time baking cookies and watching Christmas movies. We actually put on Christmas music while we hung the ornaments. You are brave on individual gingerbread houses…I barely have the patience for one of them! Way to go!
This list looks stressful to me. I’ve been involved with nearly all of these activities at some point. Where you see smiling children by the hearth, I see errands to buy supplies or cleaning up hay from the manger scene or sending invites to the cookie exchange to “force” other parents to join you in the memory.
I would be so exhausted after all the projects (and disappointed over any failures), that I would hardly be able to enjoy my family and friends. I would be Clark Griswold at the end of Christmas Vacation.
Maybe these things aren’t so challenging for you. I suck at crafts. Anyway, I wish you well, but don’t feel bad about ordering a pizza and watching TV if things go south.
wow Erin…way to be a Debbie Downer.
Hi! I love this post!
This holiday I hope to spend more time with my toddlers. I found this site that has loads of free educational videos. It’s developed for young kids by education professionals so I’ve been watching the videos with my kids. Hopefully I’ll get more quality time with my kids soon.
Anyway, I wish everyone Happy Holidays!
Oh, if anyone is interested, the site is: miniteve.com
Wow! I love this! I think that this is a great idea! Now I almost want to do my own spin on my own Christmas bucket list. Christmas is going to be different for me this year because it is also my daughter’s first birthday.
Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse is one of my favorite ways to give back at Christmas time. You fill up a shoebox and wrap it and they will deliver it to a child in need. Angel Tree is also a great one. Almost any supermarket will have an Angel Tree and each child could pick an angel to give a present to.
Great message!
Extravagant.