Jaelyn's Christmas Philosophies

I find myself reflecting the last couple of days on Jaelyn and her attitude about Christmas. I think that I and other adults could learn much from her attitude.  Of course Jaelyn is excited about Christmas, often pointing out items in commercials that she would like to have, and these ideas change daily or weekly.  Yet, her focus much more often is what gifts I have picked for different family members or friends or what gifts she has chosen for them.

As parents Scott and I chose not to really do the whole Santa Claus thing with her.  She has known from the beginning that Santa is not real.  I think this has given her a different perspective on Christmas, in that it is not simply a day to get gifts from Santa, but a day to choose special gifts for those who are special to us.  We have always celebrated Christmas Eve with Jaelyn as I did growing up with my family, by reading the Christmas story and praying together.

 The last couple of Christmas’s with Jaelyn have shown us a side of Jaelyn that is unusual for a child, much less an adult.  On Christmas morning she refuses to open her gifts first and has always insisted that we open our gifts first, whether when we are at home or opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Jaelyn is genuinely bothered by the fact that adults usually get fewer gifts than she gets.  She has asked the last couple of years why Scott and I usually only get one gift each.  I have explained to her that as adults we have less “wants” and often those items are more expensive.   She believes that everyone should have about the same number of gifts.

 Jaelyn takes great pride in picking out gifts for family members – she always has a reason why she chose that specific gift for a person.  Sometimes that reason is clearly from a child’s perspective, but shows how much thought she puts into choosing gifts.  Jaelyn loves to give gifts and Christmas and birthdays often end up being a week or up to a month of daily gifts.  She will wrap odd items up around the house just to give a gift.  I absolutely love her giving spirit and I hope she never loses it.  I believe that Jaelyn has a compassion and caring for others that often goes way beyond her years and her Christmas philosophies are simply part of that.  Jaelyn shows her love for others by giving, even if it is as simple as a picture she drew or a simple gift that she purchased.   I know Scott was proud of her for this, as I am.  Jaelyn understands that Christmas is about love – God’s love for us by sending his Son, and our love for each other by giving out of love.