Christmas morning – how to slow down and savor

Christmas morning – how to slow down and savor 

Does the Christmas morning rip and tear, rapid-fire, break-neck pace of gift opening steal your Christmas joy each year?

You put a lot of love and thought into buying the perfect gifts. As you carefully wrapped them, and secretly stowed them away, you imagined the smiles they would bring – a thrilled squeal, a triumphant shout, a happy scream.

You really want to see each opened, and to capture those moments to remember. But every year something happens. Everyone is so excited, and chaos ensues. You barely know what happened, and suddenly… it's all over. That familiar letdown sets in and you find yourself disappointed instead of joyful.

If having a slower, more enjoyable Christmas morning sounds like a beautiful dream… try these suggestions. You might have some resistance if you've never done things this way before, but it will be worth it. To help head off complaints, mention your new plans ahead of time, and repeat yourself on Christmas Eve, to increase your chances of success.

(1) Have everyone take turns and each open only one gift at a time. Yes, it takes a while, but you will actually see what each person got. If little ones are a concern, let them open a toy first. Either take a few extra minutes to get it out of the package right away – OR wrap the toy already out of the package. Then they can play with it while others take their turns.

(2) Enforce the camera rule. Place a special mark on gifts you wants pics of the receiver opening and insist that those items are opened only when the camera is ready and aimed. That way, you won't miss that cherished shot.

(3) Break it up. If your family gives both stockings and under-the-tree presents, don't do them back to back. Open stockings and then take a break for a family breakfast. Come back afterward to enjoy the bigger presents. (Or, if you can't wait to get to the tree gifts, do it the other way around.)

(4) Don't let Grandma breathe down your neck. Okay, that sounds rude, but the clock is your enemy in slowing down. Someone is always expecting you by such-and-such a-time. If seeing family on Christmas is an important tradition, don't abandon it. Just change how you handle it: bring special gifts with you rather than hurrying through them; open smaller gifts on Christmas Eve; even discuss pushing your traditional get-together time to later in the day. (Chances are, others feel the same rush and will be relieved you suggested a change.)

(5) Get right to the good stuff. The tendency is to “save the best for last”, but in gift-giving, this is actually counter-productive. Every good boy and girl knows their most-hoped-for package size and shape, and they are eyeing it the whole time. Even if you hide it, every other item they open will receive a lukewarm reaction, they may even scarcely notice them. Their heart is elsewhere. So go right to the one they want most, and save the others for later on. Then, while they are whooping it up with their new fav thing, you can relax and savor the celebration of the Reason for the season.