Wednesday, December 7, 2011

In a Nutshell





K 'playing Advent' complete with pipe cleaner candles! Oh how I love the creativity of that sweet girl o' mine!











'St. Lucy' cake







{semi-related photos from the Advent Fair I mentioned last week}

More random musings from me - thoughts on how my own family celebrates. Absolutely no judgement on how anyone else celebrates! In fact, I would love it if you helped me out and shared yours.

Have you seen this? Please go check it out, what beautiful inspiration it is! It really made me stop and think as I panicked over C's sweater tonight. I have thought about going gift less but didn't know how/if I could do it. Could you? K has brought this up before, herself (in her own way), and I never really knew how to respond. I'd say that our gifts to each other are symbolic gestures of gifts to Baby Jesus, but really now, would He really want a hand knit sweater or a Mama-made warm blanket for his bed? Well, perhaps those creature comforts would be nice but that's not the point. What more can we/should we be doing? Would my children be able to give up the gift giving tradition... or would I be the one who has the hardest time? These thoughts weight heavy on my heart right now.

Our Christmas gifts are a small part of the day itself. I like to limit our children's gifts to three each (one for each wise man) handmade by myself or others, and we are very grateful that our families usually ask what our little ones really need, and then get them that. This helps to keep the focus on the day itself, and it also helps to control what comes in the house limiting clutter (and helping out our planet and everyone on it - have you watched The Story Of Stuff? It's an eye opener) I thought we were doing pretty good but after reading the post I mentioned above, I am feeling quite different. Our Christmas no longer seems simplistic to me, but the very opposite.

We actually only started celebrating Christmas a few years ago. Well, I mean as a family. Kevin and I both grew up celebrating it. We both didn't want to do the Santa Claus thing (nothing against it, we just didn't want to do it for our own family) and we didn't really know of any other way to do Christmas so we just didn't. Then when K was 6 months old I discovered Steiner's teachings and Waldorf education. As I read every little thing I could get my hands on I discovered the festivals celebrated in Waldorf schools as well as the importance of rhythm - specifically yearly rhythm like the seasons, birthdays and holidays. That's when I learned about the real Saint Nicholas and also when we decided to start celebrating Christmas. Huh, hows that for our Christmas history in a nutshell?!

I don't know. I am just thinking out loud here. What do you all think? How do you celebrate whichever meaningful holiday you may have coming up? Speaking of that, I would love to see/hear what all of you celebrate and the traditions you follow for those celebrations. I love the diversity of them all, and that we all celebrate everything in our own way.
This I do know - Christmas will stay the same this year, but I think I foresee transformations ahead!

Phew, well I planned on just posting pictures of a recent adventure tonight but that didn't happen now did it? I decided to carry on and on about myself and thoughts in my head. Sorry about that. Sometimes just getting things out there really helps me to sort through my thoughts, though. Pictures tomorrow!

Last chance to enter to win a pocket gnome from Bright Life Toys here!

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Posted by FrontierDreams at 11:17 PM
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Meredith · 694 weeks ago

To me, giving to each other within a family is doing what Christ taught. Yes, there are many valuable gifts we could give, both to each other and to the less fortunate. In our family, the Christmas season is a mixture of serving those in our community and elsewhere, as well as those within our own family. I truly believe that we have a responsibility to teach our children both how to give and how to receive - both are important lessons. Choosing to give your children gifts does not have to translate into commercializing Christmas or taking the focus off of the Savior. It was He who said, "As I have loved you, love one another." The "one another" we should love includes orphans in Africa and the homeless in every city, but it also includes our own children and friends. I think the simple giving you are doing now is a wonderful way to teach your girls how to give gifts to those they love, and they will also learn what it is to be filled with gratitude.
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MeganAyala 16p · 694 weeks ago

I often ask myself the same questions! I think that it's more about showing love for one another (and you're not buying toys from Walmart, you're doing things handmade- so you're able to make that justification!) and showing gratitude in return.

I unfortunately made the mistake (in my opinion) of introducing Santa - cookies and apple for the reindeer and everything- when my DD was younger (she's only almost 4, haha). However- when children "wake up" and are more mature, I believe they naturally stop believing in such things (like there being a physical Santa- and start understanding the metaphors in it all). That was the case for me and many of my friends. I think I realized that the whole "Santa" concept was irrational at around 7-8 years of age- and was ok with it.

As far as our Christmas Day tradition- our oldest is only turning 4 this month so take it with a grain of salt! My mother and grandmother passed, so I have no family. Hubby does though, so we've been spending it with them. They're a very commercialized bunch and gifts are an extravaganza (each child gets 10+ gifts!). While I would like for my kids to partake in a special day with their cousins, I feel that the whole meaning has been taken out of it, and am therefore not joining them for Christmas this year.. which is unfortunate. Perhaps we'll do sledding or something after our breakfast. I'll be checking back here for other commenters traditions!

Sorry for the wall of text- I'm a bit overtired, hah.
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Galina · 694 weeks ago

Thanks Nicole, for the responses on my last comments. my watercolour is in the fridge now to! My husband actually picked it up and studied it, to come to the conclusion that it was paint and not a snack..... To bad for him!

Im working in a blog, so i can post about our St Nicloas, i will give you a link when i finish it up. We dont celebrate Santa Lucia here, its Swedish. The only thing we have from Sweden over here is Ikea (thanks for that)

Thank you for sharing your link, it really came at the right time. My husband and i were talking about our holiday traditions, and how we are going to shape them to fit our family, and most off all, i have to grow a spine! This year, we ended op celebrating, (with toys) Sinterklaas twice! Once with my inlaws and once with my parents, (did i mention i had to grow a spine....) So Megan Ayala, can you please share on HOW you broke the news that you are not joing the celebrations this year....? Please, 'cause my family would not be amused. Ow and Nicole, you are so blessed with recieving the gifts that you request.... Cause on the first Sinterklaas celebration daugher recieved Oshtheimer Castle parts from me and my mother in law (cool he!) but them my mom thinks very differently about my choise in play and toys and she got my daugther a plastic chassier (is that spelled right?) with sounds and lights.... I was so angry....... That horrible thing lasted two days, now its broken and in the trash..... Talking about your story of stuff..... Im sorry, im a little frustrated so i carry on a little.
But my flaw is that i love the beautiful wooden handmade toys, and i overgive my children on the holidays on those gifts.... So i need a simplicity christmas!!!! Im currently reorganising the toys my kids have and i will be making a selection for them to choose what to donate to charity. We will probably donating it to a local hosital of something. That way the'll really be sharing something they owned to others. And ill be baking cakes and muffins my daughter and my husband will be giving to friends amd elderly people from chruch. They'll go for a drive and leave yummies at peoples doorstep. My daugther loves one on one time with dad!
I also agree a little with Meredith, but maybe thats just a part of me who really wants to hang on to the gifts....
My comments are all over the place, sorry..... Nicole, how did you get your mom to agree with your toy and holiday wishes?
Love, Galina
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grace davenport · 694 weeks ago

I have the same struggle with presents--I am finding that I am completely wearing myself out by insisting that presents are handmade while thiniking in terms of the regular commercial Christmases. Luckily, both my parents and my husband's understand what we want in our home (i.e. no plastic, not too much stuff.) We do do Santa Claus, but he usually brings only stuff that they need, like toothbrushes and underwear and maybe a book. This year they are going to get some Montessori type knives so they can help more in the kitchen. I wouldn't want to get rid of gifts entirely, because my children enjoy the making of presents so much that last Christmas, they were more eager to watch Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle Luke open the presents they had made than they were to open their own.
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Pamela · 694 weeks ago

Thank you for the link! Our priest asked the same question a couple weeks ago at mass, and I've been deeply pondering it as well. Each year, we try to make things a little simpler, both out of desire and financial need to do so. Less buying, more giving. I stress with my side of the family and what Christmas has become for them. No longer is it gathering family to share a lovely meal, going together for mass, putting Jesus in the manger, and then exchanging gifts, as it was when I was a child. Now it's all about the presents and the kids with snacks. And the rest of our family is too far away. I've tried talking with my mother about it, but in the end, we spend an hour driving each way to spend a few hours with them, and try to set a rhythm and tone in our own home to reflect what we feel is important.
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Carrie · 694 weeks ago

I realize that this comment will be divisive, especially for Americans who tend to be a religious people, but I feel like all points of view should be represented.
The fact of the matter is, December 25th is not "his" day, Jesus was born in the Spring. The celebrations of light that we celebrate in many ways of present, originated with the winter solstice. When Christians wanted to convert Pagans, they matriculated into all of their holidays, winter solstice being just one. Solstice is the reason for the season. I was raised by an evangelical Christian and managed to escape his clutches with knowledge of evolution and so, my family and I have had to build our own traditions from scratch.
(continued)
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Carrie · 694 weeks ago

We put up a solstice tree, bedecked with ornaments and cloved-clementines hung with red ribbons, a wreath (Pagan for the sun),we have a winter solstice-eve bonfire, we go to a winter solstice celebration at our local nature center, King Winter leaves a nature-inspired gift for the whole family on solstice morning. We use a candle-spiral that has twelve candles and light one each day leading up to the solstice, amongst many other new traditions. The beautiful shooting-stars of Geminids are a treat around the time of the solstice, we go to an open area with great visibility and bring hot-chocolate and star cookies. We do celebrate Christmas with a few treats in our stockings and a present under the tree from Santa and Mom and Dad, it is more of a cultural tradition than a religious one for us. The Christmas story from that beautiful and horrible Bronze-aged text is a lovely story but we take it as just that.
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Alison · 694 weeks ago

We celebrate a 12 days of Christmas in our home. It is a way for us to spend a good chunk of the season focusing on the birth of the Savior. Each night, starting on the 14th, we join together as a family and tell/ reenact part of the story of Christmas, after that the children open a small gift (a crayon, a pinecone ornament, a new pair of jammies, a geode), and read a card from Mommy or Daddy or someone they love telling them why they love them, or something that they love about them. We decorate our Christmas tree with crowns for the three wise men, small German wooden images of the three wise men, wooden olive wood images of the Nativity, and a Christmas picture of our family from each year. We try to make this time of year a time of family, as well as a time of celebrating the joy of the Saviors birth, that it is the beginning of a life that will lead to the Atonement, and the chance for us to be a family again in Heaven. We do have a sons birthday in the middle of our 12 days, so that changes one night, and on the 11th night before Christmas the children receive a special gift (this year it will be a sheepskin rug to remember the Savior, and to say their prayers on at night), and then we join together to tell the whole Christmas story and put our gift to Jesus in a white stocking. This is a gift of something that we will try to do better for the next year. This is our gift to the Savior. Trying to better ourselves and serve others throughout the WHOLE year. Finally on Christmas morning there is one present from Santa under the tree, and we move on with things, and spend the rest of the day celebrating the time as family.
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Aimee Balch · 694 weeks ago

We are doing something new this year. I'm blogging about it now. Our church gave us Advent devotion books for families this year. Each day of Advent has a different ornament, explaining an aspect of Advent and the nativity. I wanted something concrete for my daughter to DO, other than just listen to a devotion... So I made a Christmas Tree and my daughter and I made a felted ornament to correspond with each daily devotional. After we read the devotion, my daughter can add the sweet ornaments to our Advent Tree. We've been so excited and really enjoying this new way to remember the true meaning of Christmas!
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Jennifer · 694 weeks ago

For us Christmas is the entire season. It is the giving and sharing and yes, receiving as well. We make most of our gifts, not to make others feel bad about not giving homemade gifts, but rather because we can. We craft and sew and knit in our little house and we believe we should share what we can of ourselves. I believe this puts my littles in touch with the whole concept of giving. The work involved, the thought, the care ,the love. They also receive gifts in the same spirit. They accept them knowing the the thought and love that were put into them by the person who purchased/made it for them. Most of our family respects our restrictions on toys and gifts and they receive lovely things. I believe that this teaches them gratitude. We try not to over do it, but they really receive very little the rest of the year so I don't mind a bit of indulgence now and then. I believe rather than restricting the day it is better to show by example what the day is really about. By our actions and reactions they learn what the true spirit is about and how to then approach the day. Just my 2 cents.
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heirloomseasons 43p · 694 weeks ago

For the first few years of Chloe's life the only winter holiday we celebrated was winter solstice. We received Christmas presents from relatives the year she was one and Jason totally freaked out. He couldn't stand that people were spending money buying gifts that we didn't need or want (and to be honest, that were total crap). It was quite a few years before we got a tree, did any kind of decorating, and when people mentioned Santa Claus to Chloe she would look at them very confused. I have such happy memories of the wonderful christmases from when I was little though, I wanted to share some of the magic with the girls, and now we do embrace it in our own way (along with the traditional waldorf winter festivals, and still the solstice.) As for Santa Claus though each girl receives just one "santa claus gift". It is handmade, but not by us, we try to keep it something very simple that perhaps the elves themselves have made. (Sometimes even just tree blocks, wooden trees, things like that.) And their gifts from us are of course handmade, and they do not expect a lot at all. Grandparents and aunt are mostly very understanding of our wishes for gifts, and those that are not understanding have stopped giving gifts, which really is best and just fine with us!
Rambling, and no too coherently, and I could go on...
I miss you, and thinking of you, and sending love! XOXO
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yukikopesik 20p · 694 weeks ago

I always enjoy your inspiring pictures so much, thank you for sharing this part of your life!
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Sarah · 694 weeks ago

Interesting questions Nicole! Thanks for sharing them. So many interesting comments as well. Lots to think about!
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Nora C. · 694 weeks ago

We chose not to do the Santa thing either, because the true story of Christmas is Jesus virgin birth. I never wanted my children to be confused and think that what they learned about Jesus wasn't true. My children are now 13 and 15, they know where they stand and it is so wonderful to celebrate Christmas simply( like I see you do as well) with singing, and praising God for sending his Son to be the Lamb, the greatest gift of all. The rest is all STUFF. Our soul lives on forever and I am so glad to know that my children have accepted God's gift, the salvation of his Son's shed blood. His blood covers our sin.
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Nora C · 694 weeks ago

I've read your blog for sometime now, and enjoy it so much! My kids have grown up so fast! As far as the present thing, I agree so much! But the things things we hand make for our families is our way as mothers to give them a part of us. You have a beautiful family and I think your and awsome mother!
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Nora C · 694 weeks ago

Just a few more words on God's gift to us, all we have to do is #1 Admit that we are sinners. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. #2 Believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day. #3 Recieve the most important gift, which is Jesus into our heart and lives.
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