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zebra-striped pajama pants I had
slaved over than I had ever been to
unwrap the latest toy.
Eventually, as childhood turned
to adolescence and adolescence
turned into busy adulthood, the
homemade gift tradition fell by
the wayside. But the handy skills
and life lessons we picked up
remained.
Other parents handle the
“gimme” phase of Christmas dif-
ferently. They tell their kid Santa
won’t bring as many presents if
they’re being selfish, they ask
their kids to collect some of their
favorite toys to give to the less
fortunate, they volunteer at a soup
kitchen. Maybe they don’t do any
of that, but just relish the opportu-
nity to treat their children to joys
they missed out on in their own
childhood. Or maybe their chil-
dren never go through a greedy
phase because unexpected life
circumstances have taught them
early on that not every home can
afford Christmas presents.
That’s all OK.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018
Our family made Christmas
gifts to teach us about giving, but
we also decorated gingerbread
houses because, well, it was fun.
End of story. Not everything to do
with the holidays has to be tied to
some greater life meaning.
The Christmas season has
become rife with think pieces
and judgmental Facebook posts,
debating whether the “Elf on the
Shelf” trend is a fun way to cre-
ate some lasting holiday memo-
ries or a creepy way to normalize
surveillance. They tell you playing
“Baby it’s Cold Outside” for your
kids is promoting rape culture, but
also that not playing it is teaching
your children to be oversensitive
snowflakes.
Here’s what matters when you
look back on this holiday season:
Do your children know you love
them? And are you trying to meet
their needs and raise them to be
good people?
From a non-parent watch-
ing with admiration as you jug-
gle your way through whatever
level of baking and decorating and
buying and wrapping and carol-
ing and serving that you felt able
to manage this season: Nice work.
If you’re reading this, you made
it through another holiday. And
I’m sure your kids got something
positive out of it, even if there
was the occasional sibling squab-
ble or burnt cookie involved (trust
me, we had plenty of those around
my house growing up and we still
turned out fine).
Now sit back and enjoy the rest
of Christmas vacation.
Jade McDowell is the news
editor of the Hermiston Herald.
Contact her at jcmdowell@herm-
istonherald.com.
HAPPY
NEW YEAR!
BE SAFE!
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