|
Planning for Christmas Past
By J Gardener
Your child's at the age, now, when she understands that Christmas is coming,
and that it's a very special day, so you're going out of your way to make sure
you don't disappoint her. You've planned everything perfectly, because you want
it to be a day the whole family will remember. But have you planned a way to
make sure you remember the day?
Too often, as families grow and family traditions are followed, or new ones
take hold, memories of individual Christmases blend into one another. You can't
remember which years it snowed, or which year Aunt May knitted that blue sweater
that came without a gift tag and fit no one in the famly. Each year that passes,
you wind up lamenting that loss of memory perspective.
A friend, I hadn't seen in a long time, sent out DVD's last year as a
Christmas card. I was excited, as I popped the disc into the machine-I hadn't
seen their kids since they were little, and they were in high school, now. This
DVD/card was a perfect and ingenious way to catch up.
My friend's family have a tradition, each year, of reading aloud the classic
poem, "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Their family gathers in the
living room around the tree-always in the same place, with each family member in
the same spot-taking turns reading. And each year, since the children were
toddlers, they've recorded the reading on video.
The DVD/Christmas card they sent is a compilation of all their readings,
throughout all the years, showing a line or two of the poem, from each year. And
as the poem progresses, the children grow from toddlers to high-schoolers,
finishing with St. Nick's call "…Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good
night!". It's brilliant and wonderful, and now they have a permanent reminder of
each year's Christmas celebrations-a record that they can share with their
friends. Their intent is to continue the tradition of recording the reading of
the poem, down through the generations of their family.
As your child grows, you plan for the future. You've taken care of your life
insurance, you're contributing already to her college fund, you're even taking
better care of your own health. But are you "planning" for the past, as well?
Life goes by so quickly that it's easy to let those special times pass, without
recording them.
Most families today have video cameras-it's easy to set one up and just let
it record. Discs and tapes are small enough, today, that they can be stored
easily until someone in the family has the time and inclination to compile the
best parts into a collection. But video isn't the only format that can be used.
Photographs can be just as powerful, in recording special moments, especially
if-when they're printed or put on disk-they are labeled with the day and the
year.
Christmas is such a busy time, that often, the thought of breaking out the
camera or mini-cam is just one task too many. But think how much you'll enjoy
looking back on these holidays, twenty years from now. And think how much fun
your grandchildren will have, seeing their mommy "grow up". A few minutes'
effort can ensure a lifetime of wonderful memories. About the Author Brought to you by Imaginary Greetings, focused on how families get by in this wonderful world of ours. To help create the perfect family holiday scene in your home and for the best selection of GKI/ Bethlehem Lighting visit http://www.holidaylighting.com.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/43647.html
If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/43647.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
Some other articles by J Gardener | Sharing the Joy at Christmas time Terri is one of those women other mothers either envy or resent. With two
boys, both under six, she's always sunny and upbeat, even as she goes about the
many daunting ...
On the Plane with Kids It's not "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house",
anymore. Your new and growing family lives a thousand miles ...
Presents Vs. Time It's hard enough for most parents
to arrange good, quality family-time, under normal circumstances. But in
December, with holiday preparations dominating so much ...
Parents Can Help Each Other At Christmas The first few years that they were parents, Gail and Darin dreaded the stress
of the Christmas season. The difficulty of shopping with a child in a stroller
made an already arduous task ...
Enjoy the Snow Remember how your parents always seemed old to you, even before they reached
middle age? They could never relate to you, they could never remember what it
was like ...
Host a Santa Letter-Writing Party So, it's that time of year, again. Your son is being bombarded with thousands
of commercials, touting all the "must-have" toys and kid-gadgets available ...
|
|
| |