Christmas time is a time to meet with family and friends. Many you may not have seen for a year or more. It’s a time to reflect on memories.
We all have memories and traditions we grew up with. Many traditions are similar between families. Getting trees or decorations just after Thanksgiving. Making Christmas cookies. Going out caroling with friends and family.
One memory I have from growing up is regarding presents. No, not the presents themselves. It was how my mom wrapped the presents. She would wrap presents for each of us differently. There would be no names on the presents. Sometimes the wrapping paper was different. Sometimes it was the bow. Sometimes it was the tag. Sometimes there was some numbering on the tag.
It was a mystery. We would spend the weeks leading up to Christmas trying figure out who the presents belonged to. With maybe one exception, we would always figure it out. As I grew older, I looked forward to this more than the presents themselves (well, maybe).
Not only should we remember past memories, we should work on making good memories for the future. Our future and the future of our family and friends.
Questions: What is a memory you have of Christmas? How can you work at making good memories this year?
This year I am trying to make sure my four-year-old really understands the meaning behind Christmas, and that we don’t go overboard with gifts. Growing up, my brother and I always had so much…too much….and never really appreciated it. Great reminder of how valuable traditions are during the holiday..thanks!
Thanks for sharing, Tom! We are trying to minimize the “stuff” and emphasize the focus of Christ. My 6-year old son helped to read the Christmas Story out of Luke. It was great!