I’ve always loved Christmas, but now I can watch all the children's specials again and say it's only because of the little one snuggled in beside me forcing me to do so.
My wife and I both came into our marriage with two kids each, now all teens or older, so we had previously experienced the magic of Christmas mornings and all the excitement that leads up to it.
Four years ago, we were blessed with a little one of our own and now get to show her all the fun and festive things that go with this time of year.
Both my wife and I are huge Christmas people, so it's no surprise that our daughter knows the words to many carols and the lines to several holiday movies and specials.
I don’t know how many times Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has played in our house this season, but I’m definitely not complaining. A few years ago, I bought myself a book about the famous 1964 Rankin and Bass television special, which came with little toys of the characters from the show. It has become a fun tradition to read the book to my daughter while we play with the figures.
After getting hit with heavy snowfall in the last few days, it's easy to find things to do, but the biggest excitement has been baking at the Gibson house — and it was suggested by my wife, who is more excited than the kids.
I’m writing this while watching The Grinch (2018) with my daughter. She loves this version and, while I agree it's good, I’ll wait a year to debate the importance of the Boris Karloff-narrated classic from 1966.
Even tasks deemed to be hectic we look forward to. That included going out on Christmas Eve to find one more gift, grabbing breakfast together and checking out the Hallmark displays one more time.
Sure, I’m 45 years old, but I still hit all the buttons on ornaments and wind up the snow globes, much to my daughter’s delight.
We also hit our church’s Christmas Eve service. During the hustle and bustle and busy times, it's never considered an inconvenience to go, in fact quite the opposite. It's a good 45 minutes or so of family time, focus and calmness. Then we headed home with takeout, a Christmas Eve gift for each of the kids, followed by bedtime before my wife and I settled in for a movie in front of the glowing lights of the fireplace and Christmas tree.
Our daughter is now four years old and, while the previous years were fun for both her and us as parents, this year she's really getting the whole experience and an amazingly fun time. She had been counting down the days and saying her list loud enough so that "Cocoa," her Elf on the Shelf, would hear and take the message back to Santa.
My wife and I thought we were done having kids and were about to start a journey together that included weekend getaways, sleeping in and a more relaxed holiday calendar. But truthfully, with our deep love for this time of year, all the things we’re doing for Christmas now are likely what we would have been doing anyway.
The difference — I wouldn't hesitate to even call it a blessing — for us and our older kids is now get to share it with a very excited four-year-old who makes the entire experience even better.
Shawn Gibson is a staff reporter at BarrieToday. He prefers the classic 1966 version of The Grinch, but that's a column for another time.
