If our family can manage to avoid the onslaught of preschool-related illnesses long enough, I think that I’m in for one of the best holiday seasons of my life. My boys are now three-and-a-half years old, the perfect age to experience what makes the holidays such a special time.
When you contemplate having kids, it’s natural to think about the great memories you hope to share as a family. For me, that included playing sports, family vacations, and trips to the movies. But more than anything, I thought about experiencing the holidays with them. It has been magical to share my favorite time of the year with my boys these past few years, and, if the last month is any indication, this has the potential to be the best year yet.
On Halloween, the boys fully grasped the concept of the holiday for the first time. I still walked with them door-to-door, but they knew to knock, say “trick-or-treat,” and excitedly ran from house to house collecting candy. When we returned home, they even loved handing out goodies to other trick-or treaters. Halloween was never really my thing. As a child, I viewed it more as a business day – time to put on my candy-collecting uniform and get to work. So, getting to see my own excited kids participate easily made it my favorite Halloween ever.
I hope that feeling will continue through the next few months. When I was younger, November 1 was my acceptable line to start thinking about Christmas. I played the requisite music, watched the same movies each year, and started thinking, in earnest, about my Christmas list.
Since my wife entered the picture (a proud Grinch), Christmas has not begun until Black Friday, so as not to take away from her two favorite days of the year, Thanksgiving and her birthday (which falls on the week of Thanksgiving each year). The Black Friday start is a compromise; if she had her way, the Christmas tree and lights wouldn’t go up until December 1… or maybe December 23.
So, for the next week, Thanksgiving occupies the boys’ minds. They wrote a list of things that they are thankful for, which we formed into a paper chain, and each day, one link is removed until Turkey Day. There isn’t much for them to actually anticipate – mashed potatoes aren’t as exciting to young kids as they are to the adults, I suppose – but I suspect they will enjoy watching the parade and helping to make side dishes ahead of the big day.
And of course, there is Christmas, which is already top of mind for them; once Black Friday hits, I’m ready to open the flood gates. They have been hoarding all toy catalogs that we have received in the mail and have been circling everything they want for their Christmas lists. Every store we visit, be it Target or even ShopRite, they find items they want Santa to deliver, from LEGOs to apple juice.
I love that they are fully aware of the holiday; it’s not just me forcing them to experience something they don’t understand, as it was, to an extent, when they were younger.
Soon, we will decorate the tree and house, drive around looking at the lights on other homes, and drink hot chocolate. My Christmas vinyls are just waiting to be spun, and I am eager to show them some non-cartoon Christmas movies. It seems like a good age for “Elf,” no?
The last two months are always my most wonderful time of the year, and getting to experience it through my children’s eyes has only made it better the past few seasons. But this year, when the excitement is all their own, I cannot wait to sit back and take it all in.
