In a musical family, every Christmas is always the same thing.  How many concerts and performances can we pack into 23 days or so?  I’m pretty sure between the 5 of us, we’ve gotten more than 15-20 or more a few times.  In addition to the music stuff, there’s Christmas parties, Christmas events, parades, Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and then if you want to do something for others….needless to say, the point is…it’s always a busy time.

As parents, we always want to make the most of the holidays for our children.  Unfortunately, for many parents, we can get into the rut of sacrificing quality for the sake of quantity.  All the parties, events, making sure you see all the right animated Christmas movies on TV, seeing Santa, and making sure you see family can all run into a jumbled mess that, at the end of the day, we can’t even remember, except that Christmas has come and gone, and we’re worn out to start the next year.

For the life of me, I don’t think that this is what anyone had in mind when they thought “Let’s Celebrate Christmas!  It will be a great idea.”  The hard part about the human species is that we get bored and we are achievers, and often we look to improve and increase, especially when something is wonderful.  Every time we do something, we want to make it a little better than the time before, and the problem is that often we will reach for something more, while sacrificing “more meaningful”.

The role of parents isn’t to pack our kids’ lives with a thousand things that they will never remember but to emphasize the things that we want them to never forget, and unfortunately, that’s a harder task.  A relationship with Jesus.  Family is important.  Be kind and generous to others.  Be thankful.  Enjoy the good, and celebrate your blessings…and that all of that comes from God.  That’s just a few things, but honestly, you don’t find much of that on Santa’s lap, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.

What if, this Christmas season, instead of making a list of Christmas gifts and parties, you prayerfully made a list of things you want to ensure your family understands and knows most passionately.  Then start with a clean calendar, and only put the things on it that accomplish the list you made.  You might end up with a smaller event list, but leave your family with bigger hearts, a more dynamic foundation, and some memories that shape them instead of overwhelming them.  As the old saying goes, “You buy a kid the big toy, and they surprise you by playing with the box.”   The surprises might not be what Santa leaves under the tree, but the seeds you plant that grow into generational characteristics in your family line before you know it.