Getting into the holiday spirit

From left, Ann, Lauren and Ellen enjoy the coziness of a Christmas tree after helping mom finish decorating for the holiday season. / Courtesy of Jane Han

By Jane Han

Here in the United States, it’s that time of the year.

The time of the year when the country’s two biggest holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, make a cheery, festive and colorful overlap.

Actually, rewind back a few weeks and we can even throw Halloween into the mix.

I’ve lived many years in the U.S., but it’s always fun and interesting to walk into a grocery store or any home goods store in October to find Halloween costumes, Thanksgiving decorations and Christmas wreaths all in one display.

With all the different reasons to celebrate, the end of the year truly feels like the best time of the year for adults and children alike.

But as my kids get older and become more verbal and aware of everything, I find myself rediscovering the holiday season.

For example, I was shopping with the girls at Costco the other day. We saw a huge life-sized nutcracker at least twice as tall as my three-year-olds.

Ellen and Ann were immediately amused by the wooden statue and started throwing question after question at me. Where did he come from? Why is he wearing a hat? Is he a soldier? And so on.

I honestly had no clue on most of the questions. I never really gave nutcrackers much thought. I knew they were more visible during Christmas time, but why? Nope, no clue.

We then managed to move ourselves along to the next area of the giant store where huge 10 to 18 foot Christmas trees were on display. The girls now wanted to know why the trees were lit. My best attempt at a sophisticated answer was, “Because it’s pretty.”

Costco is one of those stores that make sure people come in and spend a lot of money on a lot of big things, especially during the holiday season. So without fail, I left the premises with a minivan full of Christmas decorations ― and a bunch of questions left unanswered.

After Ellen and Ann asked me the same question for the 30th time ― yes, I admit ― I was getting pretty annoyed. But then again, I very well understood that this is only the third Christmas of their lifetime, after all. And the first two, they probably don’t even remember.

So we came home and turned to good old Dr. Google.

We all know by now that I could not have raised kids without the internet.

I typed away all those random questions they had, from the origin of nutcrackers to the history of Christmas trees. Ellen, Ann and even little Lauren were so drawn into the answers, the stories and pictures that went with them.

That was definitely one of the best 15 minutes I’ve spent online.

After the mini holiday lesson, every time we drive by anything remotely close to a Christmas decoration, the girls would talk about the things we went over together.

Ah, the feeling of achievement when kids actually remember what you teach.

As we enter the much-awaited Thanksgiving weekend, it’s obvious to me and my daughters that there are so many festivities at school, church, neighborhood and pretty much everywhere.

Everything is plentiful. And this is something I am truly thankful for, but at the same time, something I do not want my kids to take for granted.

A few days ago, I was at Target, a popular retail store here, to pick up a few household necessities and Ellen said to me, “What are we buying today?”

That can be a very simple and innocent question, but it somehow sort of bothered me. I didn’t want my daughters to learn the entire concept of “buying” the wrong way. I didn’t want them to think you can just buy anything, anytime.

They have zero understanding of how money works right now, but that one episode at Target really got me thinking and challenged me. I am their first, biggest and closest role model when it comes to handling money.

Will I set a good example?

Sometimes, my girls tell me they need more Play-Doh after their old ones dry out. I order it on Amazon and, bam, it’s here the next day. That’s something even I couldn’t imagine when I was young. This is the kind of easy and convenient money-spending world they are born into.

The holiday season calls for more spending, but this year, I feel like I’ll definitely be more conscious and also make it an opportunity to teach Ellen, Ann and Lauren the happiness of giving.