Last week I was talking with a friend about what Christmas was like for me growing up and what our family traditions were. What started as lighthearted reminiscing quickly turned into memories so vivid they made my eyes well with tears and my heart ache in the best of ways.
I can close my eyes and take myself back to Christmas morning in my childhood home. My brother coming into my room to wait for my parents to give us the all clear to come out and see what Santa brought us. The crackling of the fire that my dad had built. Our Santa gifts – always unwrapped and arranged around the fireplace – on display. The wrapped gifts under a live tree decked out with colored lights and tinsel. My dad’s homemade waffles for breakfast.
Sometime late morning, we’d head over to my grandparents’ house where we would celebrate Christmas with them and my dad’s sister’s family.
(All the cousins piled on the couch on Christmas Day)
My grandmother went all out for Christmas. We’d walk in to find our stockings lining the steps to upstairs. The kitchen table was covered in appetizers and Christmas cookies that we’d snack on as we exchanged gifts. The dining room table was set with Christmas decor with the kid’s table arranged at the end. I can transport myself back in time and remember those holiday meals so well.
(Christmas 2010 at my grandmother’s house in Milledgeville, GA with aforementioned kid’s table in the background)
While I miss it all more than I could ever express in words, I am forever and ever grateful for the memories. How blessed I am to have them.
I’ve been thinking so much about how I can start to make these memories with Finn. It was my grandmother who implored me to put up a Christmas tree and decorate the house for his first Christmas when I was wondering what the point was. This ultimately ended up getting me in the holiday spirit and decorating the house for the two of us has been something I’ve looked forward to and gone all out with ever since.
I took Finn to see Santa for his first Christmas when he was seven months old and it was such a sweet experience. I opted not to take him for his second Christmas when he was one and a half because I was concerned he might have a bad experience as he was in a bit of a “stranger danger” phase. And then we all know what happened last year during Covid Christmas. I opted again not to take him for a socially distanced experienced where he couldn’t really interact with Santa.
I’m here to tell you that we saw Santa tonight and the whole unscripted evening was everything I hoped it would be and more!
Did I have an outfit planned for Finn? No! He and his nanny picked up this red sweater at Target this morning that was a size too big but perfect for the job. Did I have a coordinating outfit for myself? No! I wasn’t even planning to be in the photo but Finn asked me to take a picture with Santa and I wasn’t gong to say no to this moment. Did I have a plan for the evening? No! But it all worked out beautifully.
I am zero percent judging anyone who pre-plans better than I do or enjoys special outfits. I wish I had more of those qualities but I just don’t and I’m learning to roll with it because it works for us.
We arrived at SouthPark mall’s Santa Village around 5:40p for our 5:45p reservation. The lines were short and we saw Santa within 20 minutes. I had been talking this Santa visit up to Finn for a few days so he was pumped to be there.
After seeing Santa, I remembered there was a Chick-Fil-A in the food court of the mall so I asked Finn if he wanted to go on a dinner date.
He was so down and skipped the whole way there. He wanted fries, chicken nuggets and ketchup.
While we were waiting to see Santa, Finn noticed a kiosk selling personalized Christmas ornaments and I saw him closely examining them. After dinner, I asked if he’d like to stop by to pick one out for our tree. He chose a shark and loved watching the woman write his name on it. We hung it on our tree when we got home.
As we were walking back to the car I asked Finn what his favorite part of the day was. He replied, “seeing Santa.” Then I couldn’t remember where we parked in the deck and Finn helped by yelling, “Car…where are you, car!?” We were both laughing at how silly I was for losing the car. When we made our way there, I was struggling with the buckle to his car seat and he said, “It’s okay, Mommy. Don’t give up.”
Friends, this feels like a solid Christmas tradition to start with Finn. Santa visit, dinner date and new ornament for the tree. It made my heart happy. There are so many small and sweet things to be grateful for every single day. I am grateful for my boy. He softens my heart every single day, and I love him so much.
QUESTIONS
Please, please, please I would love to hear about your favorite childhood holiday traditions when you were growing up? What do you remember the most fondest or achingly?
What traditions have you started with your children or do you have with your family in your adult life?
LOVE!!!
Okay, this post totally made me tear up! Our parents (I mean Santa) used to leave our stockings at the ends of our beds during the night. And to this day, one of the best feelings in the world was reaching a little foot out to feel the weight of it, and hear the little crinkle of tissue paper. Then we’d go visit our siblings (there were 5 of us, very close in age) and share what we’d received, giving our parents (who had been up all night wrapping, assembling bikes and one year putting up an entire swing set in the living room!) some much needed rest.
Our other fun tradition was when our bachelor uncle would arrive with the coolest presents. Now I’m the cool aunt and I love getting to my sister’s on Christmas morning, when her kids have opened all their presents, and then there is a second wave of excitement when we all exchange gifts.
This was such a sweet post! And what a wonderful tradition you’re making with Finn.
I loved this post so much, Jen!!! Your childhood Christmases sound so wonderful and it’s so, so clear you are making incredibly special memories with Finn. I love the Santa + dinner + ornament idea. So sweet and the ornaments seem like a perfect way to remember every year. I actually just ordered a blank holiday journal so I can write down the ornaments we give to the boys every year so I don’t when/why we chose them. <3
This post brought back memories (not necessarily holiday related) but my mom and I would always share a big plate of food court teriyaki chicken whenever we went to the mall, and I looked forward to it so much!
I go back and forth on how to capture that Christmas/holiday magic as an adult. My childhood memories of Christmas can feel almost like a fever dream now – a magical headspace that’s harder to get to as I get older. I appreciate you sharing how you transition that magic into creating new memories, and I think that’s the key of it – continuing to create new, special moments rather than always trying to recreate moments from the past.
Traditions don’t have to be a grand gesture to be meaningful, your new tradition sounds wonderful!
Your childhood Christmas sounds EXACTLY like mine, down to my brother and I waiting in the same bedroom for the “all clear” from parents; the crackling fire with unwrapped Santa gifts; and the homemade breakfast thanks to my Dad. Crazy how similar experiences can be! One of my favorite memories was my brother and I sneaking our family cat in to sleep with us overnight Christmas Eve (he was an outdoor cat only), then lowering him to the ground in a backpack with shoelaces tied together from our 2nd story window the next morning to avoid being caught!!
This was such a heartwarming post to read, and made me so happy to hear of your and Finn’s awesome night! The photo where he’s looking at you on Santa’s lap with so much joy and love is so adorable!
I love Christmas traditions! I definitely remember opening our stockings with my brother, having pancakes when our parents woke up, opening presents and then going next door to my grandparents where everyone else would meet us.
When my now husband and I were dating, we started a tradition of going to see The Nutcracker. In Denver it’s at the beautiful Ellie Caulkins Opera House and I just love being downtown to catch dinner and see the show. I love the music! My husband actually enjoys the tradition too, I think he likes the music as well. We now have a 3.5 yr old and 6 month old so we haven’t gone since before she was born although due to COVID, we could watch it online. i so cant wait until the girls are old enough to go! I also log playing Christmas music while decorating the Christmas tree. We’ve always gotten a real tree bc that’s what my husband grew up with and now I loved it too, but they are going do expensive… this may be the last year we have a real one, but I love the tradition of picking out the perfect tree. I also can’t wait til they can sit through a movie and watch some of my favorites with them! Excited for you and Finn’s new holiday traditions! Happy Holidays!
I enjoyed reading this post so much!
Years ago, the Melting Pot in Charlotte would host a ‘Chocolate with Santa’ event that also included a toy drive for Levine’s. Every year we made our reservations early, shopped for toys to donate to the hospital, put on our holiday best, had a light lunch, then headed for our time with Santa and chocolate fondue. My kids are in high school and college now, but still have fond memories from doing this. We had to make a new tradition when this one ended, but it is really about time together doing something special.