A Family Christmas Tradition That Will Change the Way You See the Holiday!
Christmas is magical time of year, especially for children. As parents, it’s easy to get caught up in the overwhelm of the holiday. This family Christmas tradition will help you see Christmas from a different perspective.
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Christmas is a magical time of year, especially if you have young children at home. Seeing them experience the Christmas magic is almost as good as experiencing it for yourself. But along with the magic, comes the hustle and bustle of making the magic happen. There’s decorating, baking, cleaning, and of course shopping.
To be completely honest, I hate making my annual trip to the mall around December 20th to hunt for something to give my family members. We are all fortunate enough to have everything we need, but we all still love to keep the Christmas spirit alive, so we continue to give each other gifts.
The last couple of years I’ve experienced a family Christmas tradition that helps calm the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. It’s a simple thing that will not only ease the stress in your life, but also will help you brighten someone else’s and reflect on the true reason for the season. It’s a tradition that I experienced for the first time 7 years ago, at my father-in-law’s house.
The entire family gathered in the living room after Thanksgiving dinner and my father-in-law and step mother-in-law began to thank everyone for coming. They reflected on the year that was drawing to a close and then moved on to explain the tradition. They began to hand out envelopes to each of the family members. Inside the envelope was $20.
My inlaws went on to explain that the upcoming month is a special time for most people, but also a time that many people struggle. Some are stressed, some alone, and some feel the financial burden of not being able to afford to give their children gifts. Our mission was to use that $20 to spread some Christmas cheer, however we saw fit. The possibilities were endless and they encouraged us to be creative. On Christmas day we would come back together and explain what we did we the money.
My husband and I were still in graduate school at the time. I remember my husband gave his $20 to a janitor who was always friendly, using a Secret Santa delivery method. I decided to give my $20 to an international student that I knew was sending part of his already small stipend back home to support his family.
We’ve continued this tradition throughout the last 7 years. I always love hearing the stories of what every one did with their money. Things like giving it to a cashier at a grocery store to pass on to someone who couldn’t afford their groceries, mailing it anonymously to a family in need, or using it to buy food and supplies for the homeless.
I truly love this family Christmas tradition. What makes it so special is that you see Christmas from a different perspective. Instead of focusing on everything you have to get done and the stress of the holidays, you actively search for people you can help, someone whose day will be a little brighter because of you.
There are a couple of different ways you could go about establishing this tradition in your family. For one, you could start the tradition, giving everyone money instead of gifts. The other option is that everyone agrees to not give gifts and then spends that money to spread some cheer. The thing is, the amount of money doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t matter if you have a couple of dollars or $50. It’s more about the season of giving and spreading some holiday cheer.
I hope that you will consider implementing this special family Christmas tradition. It is such a special tradition to have and puts me in the Christmas spirit! Be sure to pin this post to your Christmas board! Click here to pin this for later!
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! What special Christmas traditions does your family have?
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