Some people love this time of year and really get into all the seasonal festivities—others of us may get a touch of the Bah humbugs. This can be challenging enough at work or out and about, but it can be even more challenging when we have to cope with these different seasonal temperaments within our own families. We can all have very different ideas about how to make the most of the season.
We are not a huge family, my children and I—there are only four of us, but that is four very different holiday season temperaments. My eldest daughter dislikes Thanksgiving and likes to get started with Christmas early, my second daughter likes to slow everything down and savor it—no time pressures; and my son likes the food but doesn’t get into the decorating or other stresses. I have all sorts of ambivalent feelings about the holidays that range from downright dislike to tolerance to some waves of appreciation. Get all these folks into a smallish townhouse and you’ve got a recipe for disagreement. I find that each holiday season finds me trying to achieve some sort of balance between all of these needs and temperaments.
I try to allow for each person to experience the season in his or her own way, while also trying to provide some sort of family grounding and tradition at the core. I tend to try to spread myself around so that all of my kids will have pleasant memories and experiences—but have adjusted to the fact that we cannot all do the same things at the same time. It has evolved into a bit of a “specialization” now that my kids are older. My son loves to help with the cooking and meal preparation and he has his nostalgic favorites. My middle daughter can always be counted on to linger over the traditional movies, shopping, and other slower-paced activities (she is a fabulous gift wrapper), and my eldest is just the one to spearhead all the decorating and party planning. Some of us need some quiet time at home listening to music while others love the bustle of the public scene. This time of year, at least for my family, it is all about achieving some sort of balance for all of our seasonal temperaments.
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