Making the festive season festive again

Our advent calendars are hanging on the wall and each day, after dinner, we gather to find the day’s incredibly small chocolate treat. You really have no choice but to top it off with a few pieces of Cadbury afterwards. And yes, in our home, the parents get calendars too. Just to show our daughter how it’s done, you know. And also, to be part of her festive experience.

Before we became parents, my wife and I often remarked how the festive season just didn’t feel… well, festive anymore. We’d somehow lost that Christmas cheer that used to fill us as kids and teenagers. No matter how many gingerbread houses we made or how many crackers we popped around the Christmas dinner table, it just wasn’t the same.

These past few Christmases though, A Nightmare Before Christmas and Legends of the Guardians (with Netflix’s Klaus joining the ranks this year) are on almost every weekend from November onwards while Michael Bublé’s Christmas album keeps us company while we’re cooking and playing. Recently we’ve even introduced Greg Graffin and co’s punk rock renditions of Christmas carols – my daughter loves them! The Christmas cheer is back in full, headbanging swing!

But what changed? Simply put, and quite ironically, we realised Christmas cheer is not about Christmas at all.

Festivities for All

While Santa Clause, flying reindeer and a booming rise in consumerism may be the centre of Christmas in popular culture, the day is still (although we often forget it) a memorial and celebration of Jesus’ birth. There are various disputes that arise around the origin of this day, the two major ones being its influences from outside Christianity and the accuracy of the actual birth date. But, come on. Who hasn’t stolen a few birthday party themes from their friends or Pinterest, and who of us haven’t had our birthday celebrations on a Saturday when our birthday was actually on Wednesday? While I support celebrating the birth of Jesus wholeheartedly, I also know that one day alone won’t make the festive season the buckets full of fun it should be.

And what about those who don’t think Christmas day is all that special to begin with?

Hinduist households have begun celebrating Pancha Ganapati at the same time as Christmas. For five days they decorate a statue or picture of the elephant-headed god Ganesha, the Lord of new beginnings, laying gifts at his feet every day and opening them on the fifth. Sounds a lot like a Christmas tree, right? What’s interesting though, is that they consciously make it a five-day event, giving the family more time to celebrate together.

The Jewish celebrate Hanukah over eight days, with Christmas also falling right in the middle. These holy days are in remembrance of the reclamation of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE. But just like Islamic families, the Jewish community does not celebrate Christmas as they do not recognise the claim to Jesus’ divinity and being more guarded of their religious beliefs than other modern belief systems, do not join in with the usual Christmas traditions.

Others, like Buddhists, who do not believe in a divine being at all, still celebrate the wonder of life and family during the festive season, but without any religious connection.

Bringing Back the Magic

The point is that Christmas doesn’t have to be… No, Christmas should never be about a single day. It also shouldn’t be about presents and eating yourself silly (although I have to admit we eat fruit mince pies almost religiously and I simply can’t wait for that gammon). It should be about the time we get to spend together and enjoying every minute of it. For so many, this holiday is the only one they get to truly forget about work and just be with the family.

Pack on a few activities together as a family. Do some crafts. Make a sensory box and guess what items you’re touching. Make a wreath out of handprint cut-outs. Make home-made Christmas tree decorations. Or start some traditions of your own. Let your child take photographs to document their holiday themselves. Pick a few movies to go on your Holiday Hit List and only watch them in the festive season. Make a Christmas bed in the living room or build a pillow fort together. Play knights and wizards or have a tea party… with knights and wizards.

Cook together. Bake together. And for anyone with a toddler and an adventurous side that rivals Indiana Jones’s, try doing the dishes together. Your entire kitchen and every item of clothing you’re wearing will be covered in water and soap suds, but the laughter will echo long after you’ve changed into dry clothes.

Make sure you make some memories. Christmas is special, no doubt about it, but why not make every day special this festive season?