How to Tell Your Children That You Won’t be Spending Christmas with Them this Year
This year you and your loved one have decided that you aren’t going to spend Christmas with your kids and grandkids.
It’s nothing they’ve done or not done; it’s actually all about just the two of you.
You have celebrated Christmas at your home for years, complete with Christmas dinner and all the trimmings. Then your children got married, and you’ve been going back and forth between the houses watching grandkids opening gifts. And then you eat huge Christmas dinners at two or more different houses. You’re just plum tuckered out and want to do something different this year. The two of you want to stay home for Christmas and celebrate it quietly. Frankly, you have given time to others and now you want to give time to each other this year.
Well, what will the kids say? And what about the grandkids?
The kids won’t be happy. They’ll say it won’t be the same if you aren’t there. Who is going to carve the turkey or make the pumpkin pie? What will the grandkids think? The holiday won’t be the same! …Exactly, sometimes there needs to be a change.
It’s ok to step back and take a breather. We need to reevaluate traditions and see what needs changed or renewed. Sometimes we just want a break to spend time with either our spouse or even to be alone. And if the kids need reasons, you can give them any or all of these:
“It’s time to start your own traditions with your own children, starting with them helping to make the pumpkin pie and watching Daddy as he carves the turkey.”
“It’s the Holiday season, and Christmas has 12 days in it; we can get together anytime from now until the Holiday season ends.”
“We really are looking forward to celebrating Christmas quietly together this year, just the two of us; it’s something we feel we need to do.”
“We’ve decided we’re going to do volunteer work for Meals on Wheels and deliver Christmas dinner to the shut-ins.”
“This year we just want to build a fire in the fireplace, drink mulled cider and talk about old times and old friends as a couple.”
“We’re going to Bermuda for the holidays; the rates are cheap, and the weather is warm. And we don’t have a hundred years left to do it.”
“We decided we’re going to take a cruise to the Bahamas. It’s something we always wanted to do. It’s on our Bucket List.”
“We just want to do something different this year.”
“The wind chill factor is going to be -10, and it’s too cold for us to go out. I think everyone should just stay home and be safe.”
There is something to be said for traditions, and they should be carried on through the generations. However, sometimes you just need to stop and take a breath and ask yourself what it is that you want to do this year. If you feel the need to celebrate quietly at home and avoid all the cheerful noise and confusion, then you should be able to do just that and not feel guilty about it.
Sometimes the best Christmases are the quiet moments spent at home where you can contemplate the upcoming new year and all it will bring.
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SeniorAdvisor.com Staff
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