The Work of Christmas
The magic of Christmas could be called the work of Christmas. I see it and appreciate it, mama. Know your time, energy, sweat and effort are so worth it. You are creating a world of love and magic.
Christmas is upon us, and like many families, we will spend the season constantly visiting family and friends, eating too much, staying up too late, drinking more than normal, exchanging gifts, and generally having a wonderful time.
And I’m struck by the sheer amount of love made visible through work.
As I visit from house to house, they are all beautifully decorated. Someone bought the poinsettias, trucked them home and set them by the hearth. Someone dragged out the Christmas decorations and made the tree glitter. Someone laid the mantle with garland, hung the stockings, bought peppermint soap for all the sinks, changed the dishtowels to red, and switched the sofa pillows to ones with snowmen and reindeer.
Someone set out the Nativity, lit the porches and yards with Christmas lights, displayed the Santa pictures from previous years, set the tables and counters with festive centerpieces, and hung all the Christmas cards from family and friends. The houses are shimmering shrines to Christmas past and present.
At each house the food is special and delicious. Christmas ham, Christmas steak, seafood pasta, fancy salads, eight appetizers, four side dishes… an abundance of food. There’s a plethora of drink choices, too many home-made cookies, cakes, desserts, and dishes of candy. Someone carefully planned, shopped for, prepped, cooked, and presented this plentitude of food; appetizers, side dishes, meals, drinks and desserts await at each house.
The children have coordinating outfits for several days, ranging from fancy dresses or sports coats and ties to casual. Someone took inventory of what they have, what still fits, what can be handed down, and what they need. Someone shopped for these outfits, down to the beautiful shoes, stockings and hair bows for the girls and the belts, dress shoes and socks for the boys. Someone got out the dress coats and made sure they fit. Someone shopped for matching pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. Someone made sure these outfits were washed and ready to go on each day they were needed.
Each day we receive Christmas cards showing the smiling faces of children. Their outfits match. Their hair is picture-perfect. Someone spent a lot of time organizing the picture - in some cases booking a photo shoot and in other cases taking the picture. Someone spent hours choosing that picture from the hundreds of others, and that card design from thousands of others, and then ordered them. Someone compiled all the names and addresses, stuffed, addressed and stamped each one and sent them off with love.
Someone buys the advent calendar, or fills it, and helps the children track each day, making a number/calendar lesson out of it. Someone has a daily negotiation with a child about who’s turn it is to open the family advent calendar, if they can eat their candy before school, and why she can’t open all the doors at once. At least once a season, someone will re-fill the advent calendar because “no one” ate all the candy in secret.
Someone sets up the Nativity, and removes the lego guys, ocean animals, matchbox cars, and even dirty crumpled socks from it each day. Someone routinely rescues Baby Jesus or the camel from the tub or the depths of the sofa and then lovingly rearranges the figures into the right places each and every day.
Someone kept the Elf secretly hidden all year, made a fancy arrival, and moves him each night. Someone racks her brain (or searches Pinterest) for elf antics. Someone remembers and makes it through all of December - even if she has to set an alarm each night - to move the darn Elf!
Someone made a list of presents, searched for and maybe researched each item. Weighed it’s play power, cost, space, need and use. Someone went from store to store on hurried “me time” and spent hours online after everyone was tucked in. Someone made an Excel sheet to make sure the presents were even, we didn’t overspend, and we didn’t miss anyone or anything. Someone scrambled to hide the delivery boxes and concealed presents in the car, hurried them into the house and stashed them away. Someone pulled out all the presents and looked at their visual weight, so everyone’s pile looks even when it’s unwrapped and stacked by child. Someone wrapped frantically in stolen moments, making sure Santa’s paper never got mixed up with the other paper. Someone stayed up for hours putting together that one impossible toy.
Someone put all this work and love together to culminate in one fantastic, magical, and special day. And then someone goes downstairs at the very crack of dawn, lights the Christmas tree, turns on the music, starts the coffee, and gets the camera while the children wait. And someone watches…
Someone… Me… You…
We…
We watch as the loves of our lives come down those stairs, bouncing with excitement, giggling with anticipation, and lighting up with joy. We watch as they shriek with built up nerves, surprise and happiness. We watch as they check the eaten cookies, wonder where the carrot went, and check out the gifts under the Christmas tree.
We watch… Soak it in, Mama. These years are so few, so precious. All this work, all this love, all this magic… it’s fleeting. Soak it in.
Before we know it, we will watch…
As the magic fades. As they start to doubt. As they question.
We will watch… As they help with the house decorations, food preparation, and gift shopping. As they take over the Elf responsibilities for their younger siblings and decide on their own what to wear. As they ask for gift cards, money, or one or two expensive gifts. Watch as they grow up and leave home and come back for a few hours at Christmas. We’ll wake up on Christmas morning to a quiet house, and realize it’s been years since we had to coordinate outfits, hide boxes, eat disastrous-looking cookies, worry about which wrapping paper to use, or sneak around to make magic.
We will watch as our children become the magicians, and we will realize we were never so happy as when Christmas was so much work.
Soak it in. Yes, it’s stressful. It’s somewhat ridiculous, materialistic, excessive and above all, self-inflicted. But the magic… the magic is so short lived, and so very, very worth it.
If this touched your heart, please share it with another mom. This season makes a lot of us feel stressed — let her know you see her work-turned-love.
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