Where to begin with a post about Christmas? With memories of childhood Christmases perhaps? Or what about Christmas traditions or Christmas wishes? Perhaps the excitement on our children’s faces on Christmas morning; the joy of a Christmas spent with family?
I could lament how fast time is going. How quickly Christmas arrived, again. How little time I feel I have had to organise everything.
I could talk about keeping the magic alive as your children get older and no longer believe in Santa, but still believe in all that makes Christmas special and sparkly.
I could worry about expectations, my own and others; about how hard it can be to celebrate Christmas as an expat.
Or I could tell you that I understand that time will continue to go too quickly and that I need to sit down and take note as it passes. That I have realised that while the magic may have changed, it is well and truly alive. That I have recognised the need to manage expectations, especially my own, prioritise my to-do list and only do the necessary.
That I know what makes our Christmas special; that I take pride in the decisions that we make and the traditions that we create.
So, I could explain that we are cutting back on stuff again this year and, as last year, giving experiences instead.
I could tell you how grateful I am to be able to give my family a Christmas to remember; how I will not take any of it for granted.
I could speak of the clarity that comes with understanding that all you need to make Christmas special is the people you love. That the greatest gift we can give each other is our time and attention.
But perhaps all I need to say is how very lucky I am.
You can find this weeks #ThePrompt linky here. I do hope this week’s prompt inspired you; I look forward to reading your posts.
Love how Christmas can bring up so many different thoughts – and definitely agree that it always seems to come around again soon quickly. I love your approach to keeping the magic alive with your older son and letting it evolve rather than disappear. And Christmas is definitely a good time to reflect and be thankful for what we have. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas – thank you for hosting the Prompt this year, have loved joining in with it x
I think you’ve summed up all our thoughts, hopes and concerns in one beautiful post, without saying it! Christmas is laden with our own thoughts, magical ideals, expectations – sometimes realistic ones and sometimes not(!) – and can be so busy but your post summarises what we really have to remember at Christmas. That we have family, friends and we are very lucky.
It’s been lovely to meet you this year & for introducing me to #ThePrompt, it’s been a truly magical experience for me & I will see you here next year
Have a magical Christmas with your family xx xx
I feel lucky. I will have my children with me and a roof over my head this Christmas. So many people have nothing and nobody and Christmas intensifies their sadness. Giving is what it’s all about, but the best gift is your time.
Love this post, Sara X
This is lovely. Have an amazing Christmas my dear! Look forward to more prompting in 2015 xx
Gorgeous post that captures all the different elements of Christmas. Thank you so much for all the fabulous prompts this year – they’ve been inspirational! Happy Christmas! xx
A very beautifully written post with a very beautiful message. We all get carried away thinking the day needs to be perfect when what is important is that we’re with the people we love. Even kids understand this and know it’s not all about the presents. Wishing you a very happy Christmas.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas Sara… have a fabulous time x
This is beautiful, Sara, and says it all. Christmas can mean so many things to people, but like you, it boils down to spending time with my family xx
Aw. I agree with every word Sara! I did think that the topic ‘Christmas’ was a bit all encompassing, especially when so much has already been said by so many on the subject lately! The essence of it is family and togetherness though isn’t it? Thanks for hosting this year honey, I feel thankful that I found your blog and this linky because it has continually challenged me and got my creative juices flowing. I really wanted to join in with last week’s topic on ‘friendship’ – that was a great one I thought, but it coincided with this difficult time I’ve been having, with the blog, my relationship, my christmas preparations. I’ll definitely re-visit and read some of the posts now. Xx
Clever post. Christmas does make us think of so many things. Amazing how one holiday means so much to so many people. I can’t wait for the big day!
You’ve captured so many things here. Christmas is a time for looking both forward and back and celebrating it all with people you love.
Great post. Happy Christmas xx
Nice post. It says everything you need to say, no beating about the bush. Hope you have a lovely Christmas and create special memories with your family.
lovely post & it’s nice to read how you broached the subject of Santa with your 8yr old, fair play to him! have a great Christmas x
Time does fly doesn’t it. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
It only seems 5 minutes since last Christmas and here we are doing it all again! Lessons to be learned each year and though everyone’s Christmases can *look* the same, many are very different.
I hope yours is a very happy one :) x
I too think Christmas should be more about giving and sharing rather than just toys and presents. And to build beautiful memories for the children to cherish as they grow older. Hope you have a lovely Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Catch up again in 2015 xx
A great post Sara. I think we often forget to appreciate what we have and taking a moment to look around does us the world of good. Have a lovely Christmas with your family Sara. xx
This is lovely. You’ve summed up the true spirit of Christmas. xxx #ThePrompt
Such a lovely post and I hope that as my little boy gets older I’ll always be able to keep the magic alive for him. At the moment he believes very much in Father Christmas which is magical to watch.
Of course, the presents are lovely, but the highlights for me are spending time with family and friends and the happiness that seems to be all around at Christmas. Have a fabulous one Sara xxx
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