What Christmas Wishes do YOU Cherish?

Christmas Wishes

Making Dreams Come True!

Christmas wishes are different for everyone. Do you know what is important to each of your family members? To create a truly memorable holiday, we need to find out just what these wishes are, and decide how to incorporate them into our celebrations.

The idea here is to get the entire family together for one evening, to share our ideas, hopes and Christmas wishes for the coming holiday season. It will help a great deal if you do a little advance planning for this event.

The first thing to do is to search the calendar to figure out which date would be the easiest. You want the fewest distractions possible, and if there are any appointments, look for those that can be rescheduled to accomodate your new plans. Next, we're going to do a little homework!

First things first...

Before anything else, be sure that you do any necessary rescheduling so that you are insured of a free evening! Place in a big 'X' across the entire day, so that no one decides they can fill it up again.

One of the things to start thinking about is how to get your family members to share their personal Christmas wishes with you. We'll get to this in more detail in a bit, but keep this all-important question at the back of your mind.

Young children are always willing to talk about their Christmas wishes! Of course, if you're not careful, these wishes will be strictly about new toys and presents! This isn't the information we're fishing for just yet, though.

Older kids will probably think you're nuts if you even bring it up.

What are YOUR Christmas Wishes?

The big homework assignment is the need to figure out what information you are seeking. The best way to do this is to find out what is most important to you, and what would make this holiday your best one ever.

Create a list of your own questions...and answer them!

For example:

What are your most cherished Christmas memories?
What was best about last year's holiday season?
What could you leave out this year, that you did last year?
Is there anything new you'd like to try this Christmas?
What would you like to share with your spouse/children this year?
Do you want to host a holiday party? Several?
... any other questions you can think of!

Give yourself ample time to think about this - the more Christmas wishes you have to share with your family, the more they will share with you. It will also be easier to steer the conversation. Sit down with a notebook and a cup of hot cocoa (you'll find I suggest the cocoa an awful lot!!) and fantasize.

Don't limit yourself in any way. This is your time to figure out what is important to you. Be honest with yourself, and have some fun.

Get dressed up and go to midnight mass?Spend an evening cruising town and looking at all the lights?Take the kids to see the Rockettes?Share a romantic evening alone with your spouse?Build a snowman with the kids

Once you know what you want, its time to figure out what everyone else wants! Block off your chosen evening on the calendar with a single word. Use a big, brightly colored marker, and take up as much space as you can. The idea is to not leave room on the calendar for anything else on that date. (I know its sneaky!!)

Incidentally, this is a perfect time to get your spouse or partner involved in the process. Getting the adults on the same page will only help keep the kids on track later!

Get the family talking about Christmas wishes

We will need to find a creative way of getting everyone actively involved in the conversation... It could be as simple as mentioning an upcoming event in passing at dinner, or as involved as creating your own board game for the entire family to play over treats and hot cocoa after the meal. You are only limited by your imagination on this one.

Teenagers are terrible when it comes to answering questions. The more direct the query, the more evasive the answer. One needs to be a little sneaky when it comes to getting them to talk. We all know, though, that they will talk a blue streak if we hit on an idea they are interested in!

If you need a few ideas on what you can do, I will have "Christmas Wishes" party ideas in the Christmas party section of the site. I will also have a hints and tips page.

Later on, when the kids have gone off to bed, sit down with your partner and talk things over. Have a glass of wine together and talk about the ways you celebrated the holidays as children. Talk about what you'd both like to do now. Review what other family members suggested, and start to make a plan. Make some notes, and grab your Christmas calendar.

Be sure you do not neglect your or your spouse's Christmas wishes in your plans!! As parents, we all have a tendency to think that the kids should come first. We need to remember that Christmas is for everyone, and that our own wishes count, too! Make a list!

Finding time for everyone's Christmas wishes

What exactly is on that calendar? Are there events there that nobody wants to attend? Are there things that can be rescheduled to accomodate other activities? Can several things be condensed so that an afternoon is freed for more fun and festive activities?

If this is the case, make the necessary phone calls and arrangements first thing in the morning. Free up as much space as you can. Be ruthless! I will include another tips and tricks page to help make this part a little easier on everyone.

The first area to attack is the mundane things like doctor's appointments and errands. See how much you can comfortably fit into a single day, and keep doing this until you've condensed as much as possible.

There are other 'mundane' things that will have to fit into this schedule such as cleaning and cooking, so keep this in mind as you go!

Now that you have your list, and some free time on the calendar, we'll move ahead to more sections. Later on, when you create your Christmas calendar, several of these lists will start to fill up those empty days again. For now, tuck this list into a three-ring binder which will become your Christmas notebook.