It's OK, you can fess up: how are you really feeling about the festive season? It is a long year, we've all put a lot in, and so many people's light is starting to dim right about now. And yet, here comes Christmas. It can feel like just another thing on the list, something that'd be easier to just let slide…after all, there are other things in a year, and the children can celebrate at home. Right? Hmm.
We get it, we do. We've felt the same. And then we gave ourselves a swift talking to (in a heart way, of course). We asked ourselves, who is it for - this season, in this setting?
And we looked around us at little people with little hearts and little hopes at this time of year. Children love Christmas. They're not 'over it' yet or dismayed at the commercialism. For them it's still wondrous and special and celebration-worthy. They don't need us to just run on fumes, getting through the season. They need us to 'bring it' - all the enthusiasm and joy we can.
We had help in our transformation when we went from Christmas wary to Christmas fairies in our own environments.
Child-us popped up in our memories, called into focus consciously so we could rekindle our love affair with the festive season. We rummaged in our 'heart banks' to a time when Christmas wasn't bills to pay but a time for play, and we found the fun in the season,rather than being in a funk for the season.
Child-us knew the magic, and it is child-us who always help us serve our children well. We'll see the season through their eyes, because those eyes used to belong to us. We'll know what lights them up because we can use what lit that spark in us. We can share the stories that spoke to us then, and tune in for the children's versions, knowing how much the connection with adults warmed us. We'll know the rituals that provide richness, because we lived them and loved them too.
No matter how we feel when we first think of letting Christmas through our doors, we can have a rethink. Our initial mood doesn't need to be our prevailing one. We can put the children first. We can remember little hearts and what they need. And we might just find that the visit from child-us gives us back our Christmas cheer, and in fact, adult-us is actually a big fan of the festive season too.
Enjoy this festive season!
P.S. THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS: do you want help to get through this season while still showing joy for the children? We have created The Heart of Christmas, a beautiful teacher guide full of ideas for bringing magic and wonder to the Christmas season.