It's the Little Things!

I remember when I was little, me and my sister and all of my cousins would be decked out in our beautiful christmas dresses, our hair done up really nice, waiting for santa to come with the presents. We would dance around the living room to the christmas music, twirling our dresses... our little curls would bounce to the music.

I remember when my dad and all of his brothers would go into the basement and play a 'friendly' game of poker. I would sit there and watch them play. They would tell old family stories, some of which were so funny that I would laugh until I cried.

I miss those days.  With each passing year, the holidays seem to get less special. They have become less of a big deal.  People come later and leave earlier. We stopped wearing the fancy dresses... which yes came with age... but we also stopped dressing up all together. We stopped playing poker because people were leaving early.

I think this holiday season people need to slow down and enjoy the little things. I know that is something I am going to do now that I have a child!

A party is not just a party anymore... it is time with family that you maybe only see three times a year. It is a time to sit back and enjoy that time together... and to stay that extra hour even if you might have to wake up early the next day to go to work. After all, how many times are we all together like this?

Decorating the tree is not just throwing the ornaments on it anymore... it is the start of a tradition. A tradition that your child will look back at many years from now and continue with her family and children.

It's not making Christmas cookies because someone asked you to bring them to a holiday party... it is turning on the christmas music and helping your child use the cookie cutter to make that special cookie for daddy.

It's watching that christmas movie even though you have seen it a thousands times...because it will be the first time your child is seeing it and because sometimes it's just nice you curl up on the couch and forget about everything else that needs to get done!

It's the little things that, through the years, we have started to over look. I miss those days. Maybe this year we can enjoy being able to be together and not act like it is a chore...something we haven't done in a long time!

I told my mom that I think the 'theme' of our family christmas this year should be 'Let's Party Like the Old Days'.  Everyone would have to dress up in a nice holiday outfit.  Nothing expensive... but just something black, green, red, or white... something christmasy.  We'll listen to christmas music as we eat dinner and open presents.  We'll laugh and reminisce about past years.  No, we won't dance around the living room spinning our dresses, but it will be nice. We will enjoy the little things!

This year, it's about the little things!