Christmas ~ Reed Style

We had a fairly quiet Christmas. I used to be bothered by that. I'd see friends attend party after party, dinner upon dinner and seem to have a constant stream of festive events to talk about. For us this year, our Christmas celebrations included a Christmas Eve service at church and our intimate family dinner on the 25th. And you know what? It was wonderful! I think we finally came to the realization that our days of busy Christmas seasons will come as our kids get older and it is a special gift to have these quiet times together now.

As a self-admitting blog addict, I (Jenny) am constantly bookmarking ideas and crafts that I intend on doing with and for my kids on holidays. You can guarantee that I at least PLAN big. It is, however, very rare that these ideas come to fruition. I DID NOT make paper bag turkey leg drumstick place card holders for Thanksgiving, despite my best intentions. I DID NOT make endless trains of paper snowflakes for my house as seen on Jamie Oliver’s Family Christmas Special. I DID however, START homemade stockings and had a good time making some outdoor evergreen arrangements with friends. We made gingerbread cookies this year as well but didn't get to icing them - maybe next year!

I guess the point is that Christmas came and went, despite my half-finished projects and high hopes. Not that I was grinchy this year but I did have the Christmas revelation in my 33rd year of life that in the words of Dr. Seuss....

"Somehow or other, it came just the same! It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes, or bags!
And he puzzled and puzzed, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

We were privileged this year to spend time reflecting and worshipping our risen Saviour who was born in Bethlehem many years ago. God has been moving in our hearts in amazing ways this year and gracious enough to give us a bit of hindsight. (Read our last blog for more details) We often don't see His hand in the moment but can praise Him and rejoice in the work He has done as we look back over the year.

Here are a few lessons I learned this year that I am hoping to remember in the future:

1. Turkey coma does positively affect cranky teething babies. We enjoyed some full nights of sleep over the holiday season (the best gift 8 month old babies can give their momma!)

2. Your 3.5 year old will undoubtedly enjoy the dollar store items he received for Christmas the MOST! (Next year's budget will reflect that!)

Gavin is still enjoying his Chinese Yo-Yo! It's a paper toy that you wing out and it turns into a sword/whacker/laser depending on the context.



3. Bacon cooked on top of the turkey is the staple of Christmas dinner. I could just stop the meal right there!

Here's our turkey before we ate our bacon appetizer and a shot of our chocolate pudding parfaits (yum!).



4. You can watch the movie Elf over and over again, year after year and still enjoy the same spots because as Buddy puts it "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favourite!"

(Note the TV in the right photo!)



5. It is very hard to teach your child that Christmas isn't about presents when each day the pile under tree grows by the generosity of family and friends.



6. You can never have enough leftover stuffing. Never.

7. Balderdash can either turn into a very silly game about squirrels and rodents with long time friends or it can be a very intense and nail-biting game with new friends! (that Shane inevitably always wins)

8. You can watch Charlie Brown's Christmas everyday and not get sick of it. AND you can use it to help your child memorize a scripture passage in the book of Luke - thanks Linus :)

9. Gatherings of longtime friends end a whole lot earlier these days now that the kids out-number the adults! Our intentions of playing games into the wee hours of the night are usually replaced by bottle feedings, pajama duty and bedtime stories.

10. You can always make Gramma cry with the good 'ole family picture collage. (Points for mommy & daddy!)




Looking back, we had a great few weeks. I’m looking forward to next year, I’ve started my list of blog bookmarks and my list of handmade gifts ideas. Gavin has asked repeatedly if next year we can have a tree again and Shane is dreaming of his turkey soup. Lord willing, we will get to enjoy them!


Here are some more shots from Christmas morning...







Gavin's Christmas list this year was as follows...
1. A pencil that writes (He was frustrated with previous unsharpened pencil gifts)
2. A colouring book and (of course...)
3. A new Buzz Lightyear with 2 legs (His old Buzz had a space ranger accident a few weeks before Christmas)





We pray that the peace and joy of Christmas, and the love of Christ is seeping into your hearts still! We are praising God today that the story of that babe in a manger doesn’t end there. Our tree is shedding its needles in the back yard, our decorations are down, the Christmas music is packed away (almost!) but our Saviour lives!

Blessings,
Shane and Jenny