Or wanting? Or demanding? I remember Christmas when I was a child. It was probably as crazy as it is now, however I remember that I knew I would only get one present, so I did not make demands. I did not ask for a present. I accepted that Santa would bring one present, and that's it. There was no point in demanding, as nothing would change.
Being an only child, I certainly was not a spoilt one. That said, I do however tend to spoil my only child... But I try to keep it in perspective. Yes I may go overboard sometimes in giving her something nice, but I don't see it as spoiling. I think you spoil them if they come to expect it, and never appreciate the reality of what it takes to earn the money to be able to afford to buy something. I think mine values that, well I would hope so! However she still makes demands. I tend to stop her in her tracks and say that she should be grateful for what she's got and that she's lucky compared to a lot of other kids. I try not to go down the road of "in my day, when I was your age yadda yadda yadda" but seriously, we were lucky to get one present in those days.
And when Christmas morning came, and the present was under the tree, I was so happy and excited. It was the best feeling ever, and I was ever so grateful for that one present. This year I decided to pose the question to my daughter "what if you only got one present for Christmas?" and she gave me a really strange look. I guess she's got expectations and her wish list was rather long too, but I think there is some understanding that you get what you get and you need to focus on being happy with that.
Why has Christmas become such a shitfight? Seriously. I never remember my parents stressing over Christmas. I think they'd go out and buy some presents and that's it. We'd have roast chicken for dinner, which is what we had on Sundays anyway. We would go to the beach if it was hot. We'd go visit relatives and they'd have a few drinks and a BBQ. Pretty simple really. Not now. Now it seems we have to attend this function and that function, we have to buy this and that for this person and that person. We have to get excited and feign interest in the silly season. I guess because I'm older the interest is just so not there. However, it does make me happy to see the excitement kids get out of it and sometimes I get a feint recollection of my own excitement as a kid. But I really do dislike the way Christmas has just become a buy fest. Buy this, buy that. Spend money on all sorts of crap you don't want to spend money on.
Thankfully this year most of my friends and family and I have made a pact: we are not buying presents for everyone. It's just not feasible in this day and age to spend that much money and I am relieved that I do not have anyone who demands that in my life! OK except for a certain child, but that's OK... she's allowed to make demands as long as she understands that she must be grateful and remember that things aren't important. What's important is family and the love and support you get from them all year, not just during the crazy season!
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