High Maintenance Mom

My daughter is old enough now to know all about Santa Claus and presents and while we do not overload the her with toys and she watches very little television (and PBS at that) she still asks when the presents are coming and if she has been a good girl this year. I did some thinking and came up with a few ways I am going to try to make this holiday season less about material things and more about the family traditions I am eager to start. Don't get me wrong, we will still have presents after all we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas so both kids will see some gifts. Somehow my parents managed to do both gifts and traditions so here is what I learned from them and some of my own ideas.....

1. Teach your kids about advertising/marketing-my daughter was watching TV the other day and started complaining because her show started showing ads (PBS Sprout). I told her exactly what was going on and what the ads were trying to do. I told her that their job was to make the product look so good that you wanted to go out and buy it or ask Mom and Dad to buy it. She seemed a bit amazed. I also took that opportunity to talk to her about money.

2. Make gifts-I know everyone says this but they say it for a reason....it is a good idea. No 4 year old needs to present Mommy with a diamond necklace that Daddy picked out and say it is from her. Everyone knows it wasn't and the child had no hand in any of it. Older kids can at least go to a store and thoughtfully pick out a book, CD, sweater, etc that their loved one would like, wrap it themselves and write the card out too. When children see the loving work that can go into a gift they are more likely to give again and enjoy doing it.

3. Teach giving early-my daughter's school has many giving programs throughout the year and I always make it a point to involve my daughter. Sure I could grab some can goods and bring them in and pick out some clothes and drop them in the box but that wouldn't be teaching anyone anything. I had my daughter take the list of suggested can goods with us to the store and she physically got the items from the shelf and took them to the check out. Same with the clothes we donated to the families in need. My daughter took great delight in knowing the outfits she picked out would be for another child who might not otherwise get clothes they needed.

4. Don't shelter your kids- I am very honest with my daughter (my son is too young to understand yet) about those who go without food, toys and warm clothes. I am also careful not to scare her or make the issue to heavy on her mind. There is a fine line but I don't think preschoolers are too young to start understanding the benefits of giving.

5. Start family traditions- this one comes easy for me because I grew up in a home very rich in traditions. My Father had a lot of Christmas traditions from his home in Germany and we stayed faithful to them even after we all went to college and started our own families. Now it is my turn to bring them to my family and make some new ones of our own. And, we are lucky to have my husband's wonderful Jewish traditions to add. I used to think I was the luckiest kid in the world at Christmas time because we had so many fun family things to do. I wanted to invite everyone over to my house to show them off. When kids feel good about their home life they feel good about themselves.

There are so many other ways to make this holiday season less about presents and more about family and giving back....these will get you started. I would love to hear what you do to make your holidays special! Happy Holidays.