Christmas Joy: Then And Now

Oh, Christmas...this time of year always brings me a full blast of nostalgia, especially now that I have children. A couple of weeks ago, while we were visiting Mami, and I was admiring one of Mami's ornaments on her Christmas tree, one of my sons asked me what Christmas was like when I was growing up. I was immediately hit with a good dose of nostalgia and joy. To answer my son's question, I told him...

Christmas was a day full of joy, laughter, and love when I was a kid. We always wore fancy clothes even though it was just going to be us and we were not going anywhere. We celebrated it at home. Instead of listening to classic Christmas songs on repeat, we listened and danced to bachata and merengue. Mami always went all out with Christmas dinner. It was truly a Dominican Christmas.  We ate delicious food and treats. Also, Christmas Eve was our Christmas Day. I can't recall making cookies for Santa, but I remember staying up late with my sisters and brother until midnight. Once it was midnight, we were allowed to open our gifts. I would try to fight my sleep and stay up all night, but of course, I would lose the battle. Christmas Day was just a day for us to rest and play with our new gifts. We'd eat leftovers and watch cartoons together. It was simply a low-key day.

Now that I'm an adult with my own children, Christmas is slightly different for us. We still spend Christmas Eve with Mami, but I've added a few traditions for my own family. We pick out an ornament every year and have bought matching pajamas for the past couple of years, two of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. We go to our city's Christmas tree lighting, and I am always hit with the memory of going to Rockefeller Center as a child and watching the massive tree with its beautiful lights. We go out to watch Christmas lights displays. I make an insane amount of hot chocolate and am always trying new flavors. We have stockings and watch holiday movies together. One of our favorite movies to watch is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I blast classic Christmas songs as well as merengue and bachata music. I bake as much as possible. I display my kids' Christmas arts and crafts. Most importantly, I get to watch the magic and joy of Christmas through my children's eyes. That is the greatest gift of all and my all-time favorite Christmas joy. 

There may be a few differences between the Christmas of my past and present, but one thing remains the same, the joy is still there. 

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale - an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Then and Now."