American Women ‘ s Club of Hamburg 2021
Wrangling the Wish List When I think about wish lists , two images come to mind . The first is horrified parents looking over lists to Santa filled with expensive toys they know will be played with once . The second is a cartoon of Dennis the Menace popping up from a pile of wrapping paper on Christmas Day saying “ Is that it ?” ( There is also Dudley Dursley ’ s reaction to getting just 36 birthday presents !) How can we let kids look forward to their presents AND manage expectations on a wish list ? I ’ m a big fan of something I learned from other parents , and that is telling your kids they can wish for four things : Something you want Something you need Something to wear , and Something to read This works for Christmas , Hanukkah , and even birthdays !
Santa ’ s Wrapping Paper When my kids were young , I loved doing things to encourage their imagination and wonder . They grow up fast enough , so why not ? This meant I was very happy when a neighbor proposed sharing “ Santa ’ s wrapping paper .” The idea is that each parent wrapped their gifts from Santa , and then that paper disappeared out of the house and moved on to the neighbors . Those neighbors could also use it as Santa ’ s paper and pass it on , or they could safely use it to wrap other presents , because there would be no overlap with the Santa presents . It worked like a charm and was a fun exchange . I highly recommend this system because kids always , always find the hiding places . If you make the mistake of keeping Santa ’ s paper , there are 364 days from one Christmas to the next in which they might be innocently looking for something , come across that paper , and recognize it . Believe me , they will remember , because that is exactly what happened when my neighbor moved and we didn ’ t have our exchange anymore !
Global Mish-Mash for Mason Jane M .
Holiday traditions are both widely cultural and quirkily individualistic . It ’ s a funky combination of the two that makes the family dynamic at holiday times so special . No matter how rigidly they observe their culture ’ s holiday regularities , there will always be something a family does that is theirs alone — a dessert that Omi made that we now make , a godawful sweater that Papi always wears , Aunt Diddy ’ s insistence on a pre-festivity “ cleansing ” of the house with burning sage and strategic crystal placement .
Even things that were annoying the first time around eventually mellow into nostalgia fodder : case in point is a classic Bauernfrühstück that got combined with leftover Mexican food one New Year ’ s morning that has become something we now can ’ t do without . It ’ s terrible ! Really not good ! But it ’ s nostalgically indispensable , and that ’ s the point .
I grew up in New York City , the daughter of transplanted Texans . My husband and his people are likely northern German since the Bronze Age . We both lived ( separately ) in Asia for years . Our blended lifestyle is the result of picking over various cultures for what appeals to us , like hungry but persnickety guests at a salad bar . For example , we happily open all our Christmas presents on Christmas Eve German-style , but we come downstairs to stockings hung by the chimney with care on Christmas morning American-style ( and even though my daughter doesn ’ t see the point , I stuff oranges and walnuts in there alongside the trinkets , because tradition ). These habits dovetail nicely , without conflict .
Most choices are easy . Oh , Tannenbaum is a more elegant song than Oh , Christmas
It wouldn ’ t be Christmas if we didn ’ t make this from scratch every year !
Tree , so we go with the former , but White Christmas in German is just weird , so no . All right , seafood for Christmas dinner would not be my first choice , but I can work with that . Raisins in cheesecake will never , however , sit right with me , so compromises must be made ( I pick them out of my piece — with chopsticks ).
While the cultural smorgasbord is its own reward , there ’ s a nice side effect to all this picking and choosing . I now know more about the traditions of my own culture for having examined them alongside the new ones I ’ ve adopted . It ’ s a treat to learn and share the origin stories of so many enjoyable habits that were , well , merely unexamined habits before ! Also , through researching our traditions ( German , American , and other ) I can hammer home the point to my daughter that everything in life should be examined , questioned , and chosen ( or rejected ) with a full heart AND mind . I so much want her to understand this .
Except for the Texmexbauernfrühstück . She just has to live with that .