Making Meaningful Holiday Memories

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about our “curation of memories” and how different family members can have different memories of the very same event. Funny how my brother and I could fondly remember a trip to Disney World, while my mom focused on the fact that my brother puked in the car and there was a hole next to the window air conditioner in our hotel big enough to let in the palmetto bugs . . . the human brain surely is interesting. Same trip, completely different perspectives.

I don’t know why our brains choose to retain what they do and why they choose to forget other things (above my pay grade and degree in Accounting, for sure). 2020 has been a weird and challenging year for all of us, and the holidays will certainly be different than in the past. Instead of focusing on what we are NOT getting to do with friends and family this holiday season (no New Year’s Eve bash??? 🥂), let’s think about what we CAN still do: create meaningful holiday memories and traditions.

Making Meaningful Holiday Memories

1) A Fun Activity

My youngest daughter has always loved putting together a gingerbread house. Over the years we have typically received them as gifts, and putting one together is a SUPER way to keep the kiddos occupied with a holiday-related activity for a little bit of time. There are MANY gingerbread house construction & design methods: the graham cracker house, the Pop-Tart house (admittedly, this is a new one for me this year), the ready-made house (there are many, but this one from Trader Joe’s is my favorite), and even the from-scratch house (for those of you who are way more ambitious than I am).

Whichever one you choose, let me offer you one little piece of advice: since you don’t end up eating them in the end (you don’t, DO YOU??), hit the easy button and affix the structure of the house together with a hot glue gun. Have it ready-to-go for little hands, if you must, or allow bigger kids to do it themselves. But save yourself the aggravation of having the darn thing fall over 10 times because the icing was too wet or you didn’t use enough . . . You’re welcome 😊

Alternately, have a cookie decorating party for your kids. You don’t have to go overboard – just make (or get) some sugar cookie dough and put some sprinkles and icing on the table for them to decorate. It just gives you an opportunity to have a little festive fun and make new memories.

2) A Trip or Event

This one might be a bit of a stretch in 2020, but one of my most favorite holiday memories was the year my mother-in-law took the girls and me to New York City. We shopped at Macy’s, we had tea at the Plaza, we took a carriage ride through Central Park, hit the American Girl store, saw the Rockettes at Radio City . . . you name it, we did it. And while it was a one-time splurge, those memories will remain in my heart forever.

Think about a special outdoor event you can attend this year to make this season special for your family. Last year we saw the Lights of Magnolia at Magnolia Plantation. On my list this year is Night of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens.

3) Christmas PJ’s

Christmas PJ’s have kind of been “a thing” for awhile now, and if there is anything that 2020 quarantine has taught us, it’s that we LOVE our pajamas! When thinking about capturing holiday memories, you are highly likely to get cooperation from your kiddos if you allow them to wear something comfy. Whether it’s encouraging them to have a pillow fight, capturing them decorating the Christmas tree, or putting out milk and cookies for Santa, Christmas PJ’s are a classic holiday wardrobe staple (my all-time favorites are from Hanna Andersson, but now my teenagers really prefer cute sets from Target). It’s a fun way to kick off the holiday season with a new set of pajamas.

4) A Silly or Sweet Tradition

When you think about new ways to create meaningful holiday memories, it’s never too late to start a new family tradition. A silly one that we have is that we all wear paper crowns or silly hats around the dinner table at my in-laws’ on Christmas Eve. This one started many years ago when the girls were small: we’d each get one of these paper Christmas Crackers. It’s fun to make a big pop and see what everyone has inside! Sometimes a toy or a tiny tool, usually a joke, and always a paper crown. That you have to wear. While eating dinner. And then in front of the Christmas tree while wrangling the dogs for the annual family selfie. We all look like fools, but it’s so very fun.

And our sweetest tradition might be one that you already have in your very own home: reading “The Night Before Christmas” as a family right before we go to bed. I wish I’d documented this moment when the girls were smaller, but I make sure to do it every year now so that we remember. Even though our daughters are teenagers now, they still love when Dad climbs into bed with them and they all snuggle together for the annual reading. THIS is what making meaningful holiday memories is ALL about.