I Believe

 

As an adult every Christmas becomes more about the newest electronic, and as a parent the hottest toy. It’s hard not to get caught up in all the festivities. People forget about what this season is about. I feel like sometimes the “magic” of Christmas is gone. I remember being a kid and it was so different than it is now. I asked my mom that I didn’t really want more toys for my kids this year. It seems like every year they get so many toys.

Last night we spent the night in Heber, Utah. My mom got us all tickets to go on the Polar Express on the Heber Valley Railroad. My mom got the whole family tickets, and a night in the hotel. There are eight grandkids, ages ranging from eight months to almost eight years. It was perfect ages for them to do this right now. As we boarded the train I suddenly got a nostalgic feeling. The elves greeted us with happy smiles. They brought us hot cocoa and cookies. Then the dancing and singing began.  Through the songs Mrs. Claus came in our car for a visit. The smiles on the kids’ faces were priceless. Out the window my seven year old daughter counted thirteen “rein” deer. Their excitement was almost uncontrollable. Then we passed the North Pole. Out the window we saw Santa waving at us. The train stopped for a little bit and there was an announcement. “Santa got on the train.” I looked at my son who is five and he was happier than I could have imagined. Santa came in and we just knew he was the real one. He was jolly and had rosy cheeks and a big belly. He was so kind to all the kids. Took time to talk to everyone and take pictures. The night was better than I could have imagined. My kids loved every minute of it and that is exactly what I wanted. I wanted them to have a memory that they could hold on to forever. A night full of magic. And we got it!

I love teaching my kids about the “true meaning” of Christmas, but with young kids, they don’t fully understand. They usually see Christmas being about Santa Claus. Last Christmas day we were talking about Christ and his birth. My son who was four at the time said, “What can we get him for his birthday?” I never really thought of it that way. So we decided that the next year we are going to give Jesus Christ a gift. I am really excited this year that my kids are a year older and we can begin to focus more on why we celebrate this holiday. We are going to have a box that we use every year and we can write our gift to our Savior. I am really excited to hear what they say. They can say things that they will work on or do showing kindness to others. I am going to continue to make Christmas more “magical” and teach my kids the true meaning.