Toddler Christmas

I’ve heard that one of the great things about having kids is the chance to relive the best parts of your own childhood.  There’s no doubt that Christmas with a toddler is a wonderful thing, and it brought back some of that holiday magic to our house.

She came to love Santa, even if she didn’t totally understand what he symbolizes.  She loved her little Santa hat and wore it all the time (I mean, all the time).  She would often share the joy by insisting we put on an adult-sized Santa hat that floated around the house.  We even taught her to say “ho, ho, ho” when asked what Santa says, much to the amusement of everyone who heard it.

Briana’s big gift this year was a dollhouse, made of wood and about as tall as she is.  Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to put together, just a hexagon wrench and a bunch of screws.  But I’m not the handiest person so it still took me about an hour to complete.  This was my first – but I know definitely not last – year spent up late on Christmas Eve putting something together.  But the joy on her face when she first saw it was so worth it.

She loves all her family, especially her older cousins, and I think seeing everyone was her favorite part.  She really enjoyed all the love and attention, and the chance to run around with a bunch of other little kids.  And while she doesn’t really understand the concept of presents, she was very happy to have some fun new toys to keep herself entertained.

While there’s always so much to do at the end of the year, Christmas with Briana was a great way to close out 2023 and look ahead to more growing and learning in 2024.