Like it or not the holidays make people very nostalgic. It’s hard for some parents not to think of their son or daughter’s first Christmas when hanging stockings or trimming the tree. Then, there’s the tidal wave of memory triggers that come to us via the media.
For example, if I see that TV commercial about the mom being “forced” to buy her daughter a new cellphone plan because “it’s the first Christmas that she won’t be home,” I’m going to hurl.
Do you remember the first Christmas your child didn’t spend with you? I can’t imagine it’s a very pleasant memory (for most parents anyway). Yet this cellphone company uses this “Christmas first” to its advantage to guilt parents into purchasing expensive plans for their offspring with the hope that they will use some of their minutes to call home on the holiday.
Then, there are those celebrity magazines. This time of year they are brimming with details on how celebrity parents plan to spend baby’s first Christmas.
For example, Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman says she has the perfect recipe for making her daughter’s first Christmas a special one:
“A lot of hugs and kisses and Christmas carols,” the Australia star told news reporters last week.
As for what kinds of goodies 5-month-old Sunday Rose can expect to find under the tree?
According to mom Nicole, “She loves puppets!” So count on a few (including one special turtle puppet) to be opened on Christmas morning.
The actress and her country music superstar hubby Keith Urban also hired a bunch of people to rig their Nashville property with thousands of Christmas lights in honor of their little princess, who according to her parents: “adores lights.”
This, of course, begs the question: With such a young child does it really matter what you do on Christmas?
After all, the chances of children remembering their first visit with Santa Claus, their first Christmas tree, their first stocking, or their first holiday gift is slim to none.
My daughter couldn’t even stand up by herself when we celebrated her first Christmas. Still, I insisted we get a tree, decorate the house, hang stockings, load up on gifts and dress her in fancy holiday outfits.
She looked adorable propped up against a mountain of brightly wrapped presents in her pink holiday-themed ensemble on Christmas morning… and I have the pictures to prove it.
She on the other hand, doesn’t remember a single second.
Did you go all out for your child’s first Christmas or did you downplay the event because you figured she wouldn’t remember it?
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