- I loved Christmas when my children were young because they enjoyed all the magic.
- But it was also a hectic time that left me feeling very stressed.
- Now that they're teenagers, there's still magic, but we think of the holidays differently.
I loved celebrating the holidays with my kids when they were little.
We have four children, so we had a lot of very excited little people jumping on the bed at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning. They'd wait impatiently on the stairs while their dad turned on the tree and made an elaborate display of roasting coffee — groaning and demanding that he hurry up.
When he finally released them to grab their stockings and open gifts, they'd tear down the steps. We'd have an hour or so of frenzied present-opening, with wrapping paper and bows everywhere and delighted children checking out what Santa brought each of them.
As they grew older, I worried that the wonder and excitement of these mornings might fade when they're teenagers. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Holidays with small kids can be crazy
The events leading up to Christmas were special with little kids. They loved seeing houses and trees lit up with sparkling lights. They were excited to meet the mall Santa and chat with him; there are no photos of crying kids with Santa at our house!
There were lots of extra treats as we baked and decorated Christmas cookies. My heart melted when they had piano recitals and church performances, wearing their Christmas plaid and shiny shoes.
I will always treasure those adorable pictures and sweet moments from when my kids were little.
But I'm not going to sugar-coat it — holidays with small children can be chaotic and crazy-making. It was a month of dragging toddlers to older siblings' recitals and praying they didn't melt down. There were late hours that made them cranky. They had too much sugar. I stressed over teacher presents.
And on more than one Christmas Eve, my husband and I desperately tried to assemble toys, quietly hissing at each other, "I thought you were getting the batteries."
It wasn't all peace and silent nights around our house.
Some things have changed since the kids became teens
As the kids have grown into teenagers, some of those earlier special moments have stopped. Fancy Christmas clothes gave way to goofy Christmas sweaters. There are fewer recitals as some of our kids have graduated and moved on.
They no longer jump on our bed at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning. Sometimes, just for fun, my husband and I will drag them out of bed now (although we kindly give them until 7).
But this season of life is also much less draining. Everyone pitches in with cutting down our tree, holiday baking and cooking, and all of the decorating. I don't have to wait until everyone's asleep to stuff stockings. In fact, a lot of times the kids do it for me. What I see as a chore, they see as festive fun.
There's also less pressure. One year, we were assembling a toy for our 6-year-old on Christmas Eve when it flat-out broke. We managed to rig something up, but there was a good amount of panic before we found a solution. Now, everyone's old enough to understand if mistakes happen. They know we can return things, and they seem to appreciate that we're trying — even if we don't get their present quite right. Everyone is old enough to give each other grace.
The magic didn't disappear; it just changed shape
We no longer have a frenzied rush to tear open presents, but I actually love this time with my teens and young adults. I see them give each other presents, and I know how much trouble they took to make their siblings happy.
Their outlook has also shifted. It has matured from the excitement of a child seeing what they got to a deeper understanding of the holidays as they get older. The spiritual elements of Christmas become more important. As they grew, we talked about how you can find the magic of the season in sharing love, joy, and peace, rather than just presents.
We've traded unbridled energy and excited kids for cozy nights on the couch together watching cheesy Christmas movies and lazy Christmas mornings. It's a different kind of feeling, but it's one that's just as special.
