Do you find the holidays overwhelming? Rushing to finish up the semester and grade assignments, planning exciting holiday activities to occupy the kids, wondering how you are ever going to find the time to finish your shopping, tidy your home, and bake up a storm, or even a drizzle, with the kids underfoot all day long.
Do you try year after year to slow things down, refocus your attentions, enjoy your family more, with little success? I do.
Each year as the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approach, I come up with a list of things I am going to do differently this year. It usually reads something like this:
Focus more on the real reason for the season: Jesus.
Worry less about the buying, cleaning, and cooking.
Enjoy celebrating the season with my family… simply.
But as the holidays grow ever closer, my to-do list grows, my stress-level increases, and my enjoyment of the season flounders.
But this year is going to be different because today a new idea came to me. It came to me through the words of a sweet seven-year-old son who upon seeing me unloading the dishwasher asked, “Mommy, may I help you please?” (Yes, that is exactly how he asked; this is not a dream sequence, although I will admit to being shocked by his request!)
As I watched him putting each fork, spoon, and knife meticulously into its correct spot, I was reminded that what to me is a mundane household duty, to him is actually fun! Loading or unloading the dishwasher, loading the washing machine, transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer, vacuuming, dusting, polishing silverware, stirring cookie dough, measuring flour, icing cookies – these are all tasks that can be completed, and enjoyed, by even very young children, so this year, let your children help you. Enjoy spending time with them working together to prepare your home for the holidays.
Many hands make light work, no matter how big or small the hands!
Happy Holidays!
Jennifer is happily spending the holidays cleaning and baking with the help of her boys this year. She’ll be sharing their adventures through the holidays and beyond at Adventures in McQuill-land.
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Letting our children help us is a great way to build relationships and also a great way to teach. So often, we don’t want them to help because WE are in a hurry and don’t want to take the time to let them help us. Thanks for the great reminder to slow down!
I needed this reminder. It’s soooo easy to do it myself, “just this once,” rather than embracing his help.
Ritsumei´s last [type] ..Cute
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