The World As I See It...: Best Christmas

Like any mom I want my children to have the best of everything and that includes Christmas. This desire always makes me go a little overboard on the gifts. To be truthful my children want for nothing. They get toys,clothes and presents all of the time so they don't really need much of anything. And on top of what we get them, they also get gifts from their Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. So this year Dan and I set a pretty low budget for the kids gifts and then quickly blew through that. I was worried that they would be disappointed so we (ahem...I) went over the budget and bought more. If I am being honest this is pretty typical of me:-)

Well then we learned of an acquaintance whose house had burned down to the ground. They (including their 4 year old son) lost everything. They were literally left with the clothes on their back and each other. It broke my heart. Dan and I, along with others, did what we could to contribute financially but it really made me think about what is really important about Christmas. I feel really guilty that I was allowing Christmas to become more about the presents and less about God's love and the things that really matter...just being with the people you love.

When I look back at Christmas from my childhood I very rarely think of the presents that I received. Sure there were a couple of special things like my Cabbage Patch Doll and Patty Play Pall, but in all honesty I can only remember a handful of gifts that I received. What I really remember is boisterous family dinners at my grandmothers, playing with my cousins, lots of laughter and yummy food, riding around in the car with my family and looking at Christmas lights, and most importantly that beautiful feeling I felt at the end of Christmas day...that all is right with the world.

So, next year I plan to stick to our budget and focus on the things that really matter. When it is all said and done I hope my kids will remember things like our crazy elf, our Christmas dance parties, the church celebrations, riding around looking at the lights, the way their Daddy spent hours decorating the house with Christmas lights just to see the smiles on their faces, making reindeer food with Mama, crazy family get togethers and lots and lots of love. Those are the things that really make it the "Best Christmas".