Christmas Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Good

Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. This is a message to me as much as it is to you. Last year I worked myself into a tizzy stressing about Christmas. I felt that I had failed as a mom and that my kids were disappointed on Christmas. It took the wind out of my sail to say the least. Here’s a little letter to all of us as we prepare for this holiday season again.

Dear Moms,

As we gear up to be the magic makers again, lets give ourselves a little grace.

One year we prepared our kids that we were traveling and that we wouldn’t having as many gifts because our trip was a special gift. We (I) love quality time. When the gifts were all opened, one child said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but is that everything?” My heart sank, I felt horrible. That’s not what Christmas is all about.

Embarrassed, I emailed trustworthy mom friends the day after Christmas. I asked for advice, because I was still kicking myself. I was determined not to make the same mistakes again. Turns out, everyone handles Christmas differently. No one had a magical day. Real life Christmas is not like the movies. Everyone has different expectations, every child handles the pressure and pleasure of Christmas differently, husband and wives don’t always see eye to eye, others regret how much they spend or how ungrateful their kids can be.

Real life Christmas is not like the movies.

This was eye opening to me. Granted, I’ve been doing Christmas for awhile with my kids. But every year is different. Changes are inevitable from the people to the gift expectations. Every year, my children get older too. It’s not surprising that they’re older, it just changes Christmas day a little.

True contentment comes from loving YOUR life, not theirs.

Enjoy the good things that you do. True contentment comes from loving YOUR life, not theirs. The traditions that you share or the new ones you’ve created as a family. Christmas can be a lot of stress on parents to make it special. Try to take some of the pressure off of yourself to make it a “magical day”. The magic will all come on it’s own in memories. It’s always great when you look back. Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect to be good.