Christmas can get mighty complicated for young families trying to create holiday traditions for their kids. Add special needs to the mix and creating traditions can be more than parents can handle. Guest blogger Kathy Guzzo is here to share 5 ways to create traditions and keep the holiday simply special with a KISS for Christmas. Tomorrow, she’ll be back with 8 more ways to keep things simple.

KISS for Christmas

A few quotes I’ve heard throughout the years such as, “necessity is the mother of invention” and “poverty is the author of creativity” were especially true for me when our four children were young. Why? I had four children in five years. I dealt with chronic medical issues with two of them. Our already meager finances were stretched to the limit. For that reason, I was forced to be creative and use the resources I had available to make holidays special.

As a child my family didn’t make a huge deal around the holidays other than the basic family meal and a few gifts. But for my family, I wanted the holidays, especially Christmas, to be memorable and filled with family traditions galore for our kids. This meant I was forced to keep them simply special with a Christmas KISS.  Some of the things that later became traditions were actually begun because I was limited in time, energy, and money. Yet our children, now ranging from 26 to 31, still insist on each and every tradition that began when they were children.

What’s the best way to keep it simple special at Christmas? The most important part of any plan, especially when involving young kids, is simplicity. Children aren’t impressed with all the razzle dazzle of expensive gifts, elaborate meals, and great holiday getaways, unless we train them to be. If we teach our children to be truly grateful for every gift, every decoration, every home cooked meal, the expectations are lowered and the enjoyment increases.

5 Ways To Give a Christmas KISS:

1. Limit the number of gifts. We had to do this out of necessity. We purchased a few small items for stockings and just a couple gifts for each child. We didn’t buy things just to buy them; we chose gifts that were meaningful, and we knew would be enjoyed by each of them.
2. What child doesn’t love seeing someone enjoy something they made for him or her? So when our children were old enough to teach them the importance of giving, we encouraged them make gifts for one another and other family members, something that was truly from their heart.
3.  A Christmas tree doesn’t need to be the biggest one in the lot. The first few years we were married, we had a homemade 18” ceramic tree that lights up as our Christmas tree. Our first real trees were about 3 feet tall for a few years until we could afford a taller one. Our kids didn’t miss the big expensive artificial or aromatic real trees while growing up, because we made a big deal out of whatever tree we put up.
4. Stringing popcorn, making paper chains, and hanging homemade ornaments may be old fashioned to some, but it worked for us financially and created some of our fondest memories.
5. Meals are extremely hectic with small children, especially at Christmas, so simple is essential. Because I wanted a fun, yet quick and economical breakfast, one year I bought Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, a package of little sausages that just needed to boil for 5 minutes, and apples and oranges. That was Christmas breakfast. When I fixed this simple meal, I had no idea that years later my kids would still want the same Christmas breakfast and refuse to eat those two main items any other time of the year.

I totally understand the pressure society puts on families to go big at Christmas, but our responsibility isn’t to please or be like our neighbors, friends, or even our families. We have to do what works for us, and for those with limited finances or special needs children, simple is the best way to go. If eventually going bigger and better becomes an option, that’s great, but we need to remember kids can be just as excited with little as they are with much, when we join in that excitement.

How Do You Keep Christmas Simply Special?

Please, share simply special Christmas traditions you’ve created for your family. And come back tomorrow when Kathy shares 8 more ways to keep Christmas simple and special.

A Christmas KISS: Keep It Simply Special, Part 2

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