When you think back to your childhood, what holiday traditions do you remember the most? Which ones did you love? Which ones did you hate? I am positive that as my mom reads this, she can tell you exactly where I am going with this post:
I HATED our Christmas pajamas tradition.
Every Christmas Eve, my parents would give my brother and me a special present to open. This gift was marked with a star on the tag, so my parents knew which one to give us. It took us several years to understand that every Christmas Eve we would get the same gift. Pajamas. We had to wear those pajamas that night and the next morning when we opened our gifts from Santa. There were always candid pictures involved, and the pajamas were always incredibly festive.
I may have not understood the importance of this tradition growing up, but now as an adult, I can see that holiday traditions create a sense of belonging for children and reinforce what is important in our lives.
You may not do the pajamas, but maybe you go look at Christmas lights, go to the Christmas Eve church service, build gingerbread houses, bake Christmas cookies – whatever it is, I hope 2020 doesn’t get in the way of your holiday traditions. Our kiddos need stability more than ever this year. They want to wake up to their elf on the shelf in a new silly spot and not in quarantine. They want to help you bake all the Christmas cookies even if there is no party involved.
It has been an unprecedented year. Our children need some precedented times.
Don’t get me wrong– it is not just the kids that need some Christmas magic.
I have never been so exhausted in my life, but I don’t know how that’s even possible because I rarely leave the house. However, if I learned anything from the movie “Bad Moms Christmas” it is that our kids don’t want an Instagram-perfect Christmas. They just want to feel safe, to feel loved, and to have fun.
Is there a way we can keep our traditions but forget the stress?
Here’s the thing: I’m 30 years old and I still get that special Christmas Eve present from my parents. So do my husband and our son. My brother and his wife get pj’s too. Now that I have my own child, I see how special this tradition is. I feel that it unites us as a family, and obviously, the kid looks adorable in the pajamas and it makes for great pictures. So now as an adult, I can confidently say that I love Christmas pajamas. Yes, mom, you read that right. And this year, can you get my little family matching ones?
(Looking for some last-minute matching pajamas? Here are a few places to check out!)
Do you have a family tradition you are carrying on? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
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