So we’re getting to mail out my first Christmas packages of many Christmases to come. This is our daughter’s first Christmas away. She was married in May, and they are living in Ohio. (We’re in Florida.) And although I’m not a grandmother, my mind goes back to many years growing up when my Grandparents would send us our gifts in the mail.
What excitement there would be while my mom would open up the packages and one by one she would pull out wrapped gifts, and she would read off whose name was on the tag!
I don’t think there’s a kid alive that can’t tell a box that contains a pair of pajamas – I know we were always pretty sure! That didn’t detract from our excitement, though!
The unique wrapping paper, the special bows, even the smell inside the box held its own nuance!
As much as I would like to give my children my own happy memories, it’s futile. I love to tell them about my childhood. I hope it lets them try to picture me as a child, and I want them to know something about their Great Grandparents that have passed on. But I can’t give them my memories, no matter how hard I try.
What I can do is try to help them make memories of their own. Help them rewind and replay a special night or happening that your family might enjoy. As they retell their view of what happened it will help them to build a stronger memory of it. And of course, TAKE PICTURES! Nothing jogs the memory like pictures.
So this season… Don’t forget to remember!
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