It's Christmas eve and I know everybody's busy prepping for the meal tonight. I'm not. haha. I am busy prepping the things we need to bring though to the park. I decided that this year, we're not going to go through all that panic and manic thingies attached to the Christmas eve celebration. We're just going to go to the park, have a picnic and just enjoy the night with the family while watching the dancing fountains and maybe some fireworks display. It's economical, it's practical, it's sweet, and best of all, it's stress-free! Especially to the moms in the family. My sister and I are the busiest during these times so we made a workaround.
One of the things that I wanted to change this year was how my kid views Christmas. Earlier this month, she was raving about what she was going to receive from her titos and titas. I thought this was natural for a kid to expect and get excited about the gifts they're going to unwrap. I feel somehow, something needs to be changed though. So I diverted her excitement towards what she's going to give to her loved ones.
For this year, instead of having her list the things that she wants to receive, I had her list the people she wants to give a gift to. She was given time to think about all the good things that happened this year. Alongside that, I had her think about the people that made her feel happy, special, and loved throughout the year. Then, after that, I had her list down their names and beside it, the things that she thinks would make those people smile.
At first, she was confused. She has money she saved for the whole year, but she was worried it wouldn't be enough. This was when I told her that gifts does not have to be expensive. It could be your work of art, a poem, a card, or simply anything that you are dedicating to that person you want to give a gift to.
She has a lot of toys and books that she holds dear. She scoured through her toy box and book shelves to look for items in there that might interest the people that she wrote down on her list. After that, she went ahead and "helped" me wrap the gifts. She also asked for my help to order some of the items from Shopee. The people she didn't find a book or toy to give to, she made greeting cards with her drawings. I thought the cards were so sweet. She even looked to youtube for drawing ideas. The messages were all from her heart.
She then asked me, "What if there's something I really really liked and that person I was expecting to give it to me doesn't give it to me?" This was the perfect opportunity for me to tell her that she shouldn't be expecting any specific gifts from someone. She was thrilled by the idea that she could gift herself whatever it is that she really really wanted. I told her that if there is something that she absolutely wants to have, she needs to work for it and not expect it from someone else. I'd really rather her be independent than entitled. And because of that independent thinking, she did buy herself the whole set of Road Dahl book which she is slowly quickly finishing up so she can buy the next book set she wants.
We're on the way to our picnic at the park now and I'm just going to see how she reacts with the gifts that she's going to receive. She did not give her titos and titas any wishlist because she now knows how it feels to think about the person she is gifting to. Because she experienced it firsthand, she now understands the thought process behind gifting someone. She now knows that whatever gift she receives, the person giving it to her was thinking about her and thought that the gift would put a smile on her face when she receives it. And that makes it more interesting and sweet.
All photos above are mine unless otherwise stated.