Christmas is the perfect season to establish new and meaningful traditions!
Whether it’s loading everyone in the family car to drive around looking at Christmas lights or reading aloud beloved books that only come out during the holiday season, it’s so fun to develop new holiday routines that will bring joy to the whole family. As moms, ensuring that Christmas is magical and memorable for our children just comes easily.
Ladies, may I remind you to spend some time during this busy season building new “couple” traditions as well? While finding new family rituals is rich and rewarding, spending time cultivating some holiday habits that are just for the two of you will bear great relational fruit far into the future.
Just like any other date night, look for traditions to establish that will be enjoyable for both of you. (Too bad there isn’t baseball in December!!) Perhaps it’s a dinner out to a special restaurant that you can only afford once a year. Many cities have beautifully decorated storefronts and downtown areas, so taking a hand-in-hand walk while sipping hot chocolate could be a sweet time of relational bonding. Traditions don’t have to be expensive, they just have to be worth repeating!
When we lived in Maine, each year during the holiday season, we traveled to Boston to enjoy the Boston Pops Christmas concert. Every year was a little different, but every year was special! We put away money all year to purchase our annual tickets. Now that we live in North Carolina, maintaining that yearly tradition means traveling a greater distance, but it is so worth it!
It’s okay to have traditions that don’t involve the children.
In fact, it’s more than okay… it’s downright healthy for them to observe mom and dad making the commitment to invest time and energy in their own special holiday observances. Healthy for them and revitalizing for you!
Someday, your children will be grown and gone. (Trust me, that’s going to happen, and trust me again… You want it to happen!) Lord willing, they’ll be off establishing their own family holiday habits and rituals. Don’t let that time catch you by surprise! Instead, spend some time now, regardless of your children’s ages, building meaningful Christmas traditions that you and your dear spouse can enjoy for years and years!
Megan Scheibner 