Thoughts on Christmas...

More like ramblings in all honesty!

This post from Mama UK blog and these words are singing in my ears...

Something you want,

Something you need,

Something to wear,

And something to read.

These are the 'rules' I will try to be working with this year...really 'trying' to anyway!

Sadly we've become far too consumerist at Christmas, viewing it as a day to get everything you want, we've forgotten to be thankful for what we have, who we have and what the Christmas season is really all about.

Not sure how much I can play with the 'rules' I mean Fonzy needs some trousers and I'd like to make him a pair, so should I make 2 pairs to cover both or just the 1?

And what does a little man want?  

He got his balance bike that he'd been wanting for quite some time for his birthday, we have a house of toys (despite a huge de-clutter recently) which comes from having a family of 6children and 19years of 'stuff'!

I've had a few thoughts so far, I'll start with a couple of ideas for the little ones...
RV
needs a new pencil case for school 
would like to read the Shoot and Chelsea annuals
Fonzy
needs trousers 
make him PJ trousers

would like the Octonauts books

...the younger ones I can see myself implementing this with but the older ones?? 
Nope I just can't see it working with them - but we'll see.

***

When I was younger I never really had a lot of toys at Christmas, looking back now I can see some of the reasons, but as always it's complicated.

My dad worked on building sites and in the bad weather when the temperatures were low or it was too wet he just couldn't work, this inevitably meant that winters were meagre affairs, food on the table and roof over our heads taking up what money there was.  A mild winter meant a good Christmas but they didn't happen often.  

His dad died just before Christmas when I was about 6 and that affected the whole Christmas happiness for years...granddad was a lovely man and he was the anchor that kept my dad the man he was and when he went my dad was a changed man.

So I have memories of just not having the best Christmas and when I had children I fell into the more is really better trap at Christmas.  That said it wasn't till I was older that I felt a bit cheated, at the time it was the normal to me...


I guess I can work with the 'rules' this year see how we get on and maybe set a new family tradition?


Sorry for the ramble...I just wanted to clear my head out of why I want to change what we have and what we do.
I love our children throughout the whole year not just on one day, and I'd hope that they know they are loved - they shouldn't need us to buy them 'stuff' to show them that.