That Moment When You Realize the Christmas Roles are Changing
Christmas is different... and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
It's Christmas Eve! Today is either filled with warm feelings about what is to come tomorrow, or you are more stressed than ever trying to get everything accomplished before Santa's arrival. Some of us may have already celebrated Christmas. After all, not everyone's schedules line up perfectly for a December 25 celebration.
My extended family always gets together for a massive Christmas celebration. There is always 40+ people and it's loud, rambunctious, and perfect. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and kids all under one roof. I live for these gatherings, which typically happen for every major holiday in our family. We celebrated over the weekend and I realized something...
Christmas is changing.
In the past, it was focused on all of us cousins. We got presents from under the tree and spent the better part of the day playing with one another and wearing out those toys before the sun set. Now, Christmas is all about our kids. Ok, not my kids since I don't have any, but many of my cousins do. We still do a White Elephant gift exchange for the adults which is always a riot, but the main gathering is to watch those little ones open those presents.
Although I can't get enough of those kids, it's still a strange shift.
It means we're all getting older and time doesn't wait for anyone. Even though none of those little ones belong to me, it's so fun to watch their eyes get big watching a present with their name on it come their way. And what's funny is that they all want to play the big grownup game of White Elephant. The rule is that you can't play with the adults until you're 13. It's hard to explain to them that what they have right now is utter perfection and one day they'll be in our shoes wishing they were still that little kid with wide eyes.
Have the traditional Christmas roles in your family changed?