Giving her family a Christmas KISS was guest blogger Kathy Guzzo’s mission when her children, two of whom had special needs, were little. Yesterday, she shared 5 tips and today she’s back with 8 more.

KISS for Christmas

One huge myth that parents need to get out of their heads, especially at Christmas, is that special means fancy, expensive, and time consuming. Special can be those things, but it’s more than that. The ingredients in my recipe for special include time, love, laughter, and family. You mix those four things together and the results are special with a capital “S.”

Keeping Your Christmas KISS Special

1. We had limited decorations, and many of them were made by our children, so on December 1st each child chose one decoration a day to put out wherever they chose, within limits. The kids really enjoyed thinking through they would put their decoration each day.  Then when dad returned home from work they relived the placement again by showing him where they placed their decoration that day.
2. Our Christmas tree was also a huge family affair. The Christmas music would be playing and each child, their own box of ornaments in hand, carefully placed decorations one at a time on the tree wherever they chose. It didn’t always make for the most balanced looking decorated tree, but that was okay. The highlight for the evening was all of us sitting around the decorated tree with its sparkling lights and tinsel enjoying hot chocolate and cookies.
3. Another fun spur of the moment idea that became a tradition was getting the kids ready for bed then surprising them by telling them we were going for a ride. We’d all hop in the minivan and drive around looking at the outside decorations. I can still hear the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the back seats as the kids marveled at the homes that were lit up like Christmas trees while trying to choose a favorite.
4. One very special event that occurred each December was the date my husband had with each child. He’d take them one at a time to their favorite fast food place for dinner, then to the mall to see Santa and hang out amidst the hustle and bustle of shoppers. Sometimes they bought something small but mostly it was just a memorable time with dad.
5. Including our kids in making Christmas cookies was important to me. I admit it did tend to get messy and lead to total chaos at times so I didn’t try to get them all in the kitchen at once. Each one chose their favorite Christmas treat and helped me make that one. I cherish those memories, like watching my son dig his hands into a huge bowl of peanut ball mixture, and my daughter carefully shake sprinkles on the dipped pretzels. Then, of course, the bragging they did about helping was priceless to them.
6. Once all the treats were made the kids would help create plates for neighbors and I’d let them deliver them. They loved being able to be the giver of the treats they had helped make.
7. Christmas morning only one stocking was being emptied or one gift opened at a time. When they were young, this helped stretch out the excitement of opening gifts. However, it also taught each child that we were all interested in what each of them received. As they were opening their gift all eyes were on them, they were special.
8. Once Christmas was over, our children made a thank you for each gift received from family and friends. If we received a gift for the family, such as a plate of goodies, we’d make one card, but everyone helped create it.

Amidst the Christmas pageants, preparations, parties, presents and overall busyness of the holidays, the important thing to remember is none of those things mean anything unless the time is spent to make them special. The goal is to make family members know how special they are and along the way we should be teaching them how to make those around them feel special as well.

A Truly Simply Special Christmas

I understand that life is hard and gets complicated as we deal with our individual family situations and dynamics, that’s why keeping it simply special at Christmas is so important. That’s why emphasizing the simple things and the specialness of each person and the time spent together is so important. After all, it is Christmas, and we are celebrating the birth of Jesus in a manger, surrounded by smelly animals and visited by lowly shepherds.  If God kept the birth of his Son simply special, shouldn’t we honor Him by doing the same as we celebrate that birth?

What Are Your Simple Christmas KISS Traditions?

Leave a comment about how do you keep Christmas simple with the focus on the birth of Jesus. And check out Part 1 of Kathy’s post with more tips about how to uncomplicate the holiday.

A Christmas KISS: Keep it Simply Special, Part 1

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