My Christmas and New Traditions

Christmas is usually a whirlwind. When Jose and I got together, our Christmas season blew up. I had traditionally spent Christmas eve with the godparents (Dalissa w/ her family and Melanie w/John’s family) and Christmas morning at home and Christmas day with the grandparents (my mom and John’s mom). Jose traditionally spent Christmas Eve with his family and Christmas day with his best friend, now CJ’s godfather, Pedi. Needless to say, when we got together, we tried to make it all work. After CJ was born, the holiday became more and more difficult to control and I started enjoying Christmas less and less even though it’s one of my favorite time of the year. The rushing from house to house took away from the season and made it something I began to dread.

Then we went to NC. While we were there, our holidays became our holidays again. They were spent at home enjoying them with the children, the way that I believe they are intended. I think of those days and they just make me smile. They were relaxing and full of joy. Don’t get me wrong, I did miss some of the hustle and bustle that I had been used to in the holidays past.

Fear not, the hustle and bustle came back when we moved back. Once again we were thrown into all the different houses that we had to go to on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We tried to fit it all in because we had been away from it for so long. But it didn’t take long to realize that our holiday was no longer our holiday again.

This year, we got our holiday back. Since my New Year’s resolution (spoiler alert) is to simplify, I decided to start early. Jose and I decided to not go to anyone’s house except to his mom’s on Christmas Eve. We would have to make other arrangements. I want to spend Christmas at home with my kids. I want to stay in my PJ’s and spend the day watching the kids enjoy their presents. To be completely honest, I didn’t think that I would even be able to see Larissa for Christmas because she was going to Brandon’s sister’s house.

So how did my holiday unravel?

Christmas Eve, both Jose and I worked. The day before, I dropped CJ off with Jose’s mom and I dropped Nathan off at his dad’s to celebrate there until Christmas Eve night. While I was out, I got to give most of my niece and nephew’s gifts to them and even watch them unwrap them. I had planned on dropping them off but watching them unwrap was a pleasant unexpected surprise. So Christmas Eve, Jose went straight to his mom’s after work and I went home to finish some cooking and grab the presents and then met him there. After Jose’s sister arrived from the airport, I went to get Nathan and we back to Jose’s mom’s house. We ate our Christmas Eve dinner and opened presents there. We didn’t get home until after midnight. We got home, rushed the boys to bed and brought out the presents…then we went to bed !

Christmas morning I woke up to a quiet house because we had been up so late the night before. I made myself coffee and enjoyed my tree with all the beautifully wrapped presents. I gave thanks for all that we have and all that we can provide. I know that there are many families out there that are in horrible situations and I wish them some peace during this holiday season. CJ woke up sometime after 10am, then he went to wake up Jose and we woke up Nathan together. It was such a great morning. Once presents were all opened, I made a nice big breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns. The kids got to enjoy their presents more. I began baking…brownie covered oreos, monkey bread, brownies, and oatmeal lace cookies. Larissa did decide to come over with Brandon. They opened presents and then I made dinner. The day was spent in my PJ’s with my kids. What more could I have asked for? I had everything that I wanted.

What have I learned? I am taking my holiday back. Larissa is already out of the house. Nathan only has a few more years until he is 18. CJ is not that far behind him. I want to enjoy my Christmas with my kids while I still can. This is the beginning of a new tradition. Christmas is mine. I will be selfish and I will not feel guilty about it. I am taking my Christmas back !

This leaves the question of when do we exchange gifts with everyone else. We can continue to exchange presents and celebrate with Jose’s family on Christmas Eve. But what about everyone else? Dalissa, Biance, Mayi, Pedi, Didi, Amy, Lucy, Melanie, Tatiana, Marco etc. I wish that there was a way to do it all in one shot. Wait, there is! We are going to start a new tradition. We are going to have a Christmas gift exchange party either right before or right after Christmas. Since Christmas falls on Thursday next year, we can plan to do it the Friday, Saturday or Sunday after. I will have to be careful to plan around birthdays. But this will allow us to give everyone their gifts still in the Christmas season and actually see everyone and get to spend some time with them without feeling guilty about keeping Christmas all to ourselves.

This Christmas has brought me smiles and change. I am once again looking forward to my holidays !