Making every day count

This can be a great time of year for families, especially those with children. Just think how we look back through rosy specs at the Christmases of our childhood. If we were lucky, our parents made sure we had a great time. But one way or another, memories were laid down that we still (hopefully) cherish to this day. This is what we want to do for our children.

But I don’t want to talk about Christmas just now, because I think there are so many opportunities to lay a foundation of happy and good memories all through the year. And when Christmas comes around, it won't be just about presents and fancy food.

And, although we have the big celebrations that we all share, there are our own special ones – birthdays and anniversaries for example.

The milestone birthdays,

The anniversaries....

Celebrating these show our children we care about our family and teach respect and thankfulness for each other.

Children’s birthdays….. 

 …great for cake, big smiles and shiny eyes.

Looking through our old family photos recently, it seemed as though every other picture showed someone being presented with a birthday cake while the rest of the family looked on lovingly. I don't know if it was love for the birthday boy/girl or the prospect of cake. Either way, they all looked pretty happy.

How many birthday cakes I seem to have made in my time! Not always a very professional job, but each and every one of them made with love.

Big celebrations are wonderful, but let’s not forget that we can have a festive outlook on life every day in a quiet way too. When we celebrate we show how glad we are to have each other, but if we don’t have that in our hearts every day, the big celebrations will just be emptiness.

Happy times spent together at home,

Days out and about…

 

…laughing together – all everyday ways of celebrating life.

There are countless ways to make things just that bit more special.

When my children were young, we used to celebrate Friday evenings with Friday Night Treat. Just a special time for the younger children with something nice to eat and an extended story time.

I can't say I was the best at being festive, but now I'm old enough to have a fair degree of hindsight, I appreciate so much more what these things mean.

Let’s use every chance to express our thankfulness and gratitude. For each other, our families and friends and for the life we have.

Moo