Christmas yesterday was lovely :) But a big adjustment for Hubby and myself, whereby we were transitioning from being the 'children' at Christmas to being parents at Christmas. Being parents at Christmas is a totally different experience than being the child. In some respects, the day isn't all that different from a normal sunday, what with going to church and then coming home to a roast dinner, and we found yesterday that deviating too much from our usual routines was a little stressful for the children. Being a parent at Christmas means that you can't just sit around and play with your presents and watch the afternoon film or read a book. Being a parent means managing the day for the little ones, something that we didn't think about too much.
For example, doing stockings before showers and breakfast was possibly a little early as breakfast was delayed, even though we had brioche in bed :) As we were completely out of routine, the children were quite whingey with hunger by the time we got downstairs.
It was a family service at church, and since the children don't usually come into the main service with us, the level of noise with the singing was distressing for Benjamin for the first couple of carols. Ruth stood in the aisle during the short sermon, pointed at the pastor and said 'too noisy!'. But all in all, both children were brilliant.
Another thing was the amount of presents. We had Hubby's parents and brother and wife for dinner on Christmas Eve, and they brought presents for the 4 of us, plus presents from great-grandparents and great aunties and uncles. Added to our presents for each other and the children, there was rather a large pile under the tree which actually was overwhelming for both Ruth and Benjamin. It is now the end of Boxing Day, and there are still presents for the children waiting to be unwrapped under the tree.
I did keep the meals relatively simple and familiar yesterday, which went down really well with the children and us! And happy children make for happy children :)
But it was a happy day, and Ruth did get the hang of the fact that it was Jesus's birthday. A good foundation to build on for next year!
For example, doing stockings before showers and breakfast was possibly a little early as breakfast was delayed, even though we had brioche in bed :) As we were completely out of routine, the children were quite whingey with hunger by the time we got downstairs.
It was a family service at church, and since the children don't usually come into the main service with us, the level of noise with the singing was distressing for Benjamin for the first couple of carols. Ruth stood in the aisle during the short sermon, pointed at the pastor and said 'too noisy!'. But all in all, both children were brilliant.
Another thing was the amount of presents. We had Hubby's parents and brother and wife for dinner on Christmas Eve, and they brought presents for the 4 of us, plus presents from great-grandparents and great aunties and uncles. Added to our presents for each other and the children, there was rather a large pile under the tree which actually was overwhelming for both Ruth and Benjamin. It is now the end of Boxing Day, and there are still presents for the children waiting to be unwrapped under the tree.
I did keep the meals relatively simple and familiar yesterday, which went down really well with the children and us! And happy children make for happy children :)
But it was a happy day, and Ruth did get the hang of the fact that it was Jesus's birthday. A good foundation to build on for next year!
Comments