Carol Stovold Quality Kidz qualitykidz.co.nz

I've decided that Christmas is just not the same without children; some of sparkle and magic just doesn't seem to be there. But it's still a wonderful excuse to get together with family and friends, pass around some gifts, swap stories, eat and drink too much and if you are fortunate to have some time off – relax.

I miss the excitement of December 1, and the opening of the first box on the advent calendar –that for me was the official countdown for Christmas. Putting up the tree was a real occasion – bringing out the decorations and adding the special ones the children had made at Playcentre and school. Putting the lights on for the first time and watching their faces light up was another highlight. Christmas shopping was a big event, making the lists and checking them off with debate about the merits of different gifts for family and friends. Then came the build up of anticipation as wrapped gifts would start to appear under the tree. The children would always carefully walk around the tree craning their heads and pointing out the names on the labels, excitedly determining who the gifts were for.

The week before Christmas was always about the baking. Mixing the cake, making wishes and tasting batters were all part of the experience. Then came Christmas Eve – baking cookies for Santa and preparing the plate of food for the reindeer; debating whether Santa should be drinking and driving and determining that milk was a better option than beer, just so he wouldn't get drunk and run into too many houses. |Getting the children off to sleep was done with empty threats of 'Santa won't leave any gifts if you are still awake”. Then the children's stockings were filled with gifts which had been stashed throughout the house in strategic hiding locations throughout the year. I always found that I had overspent as I found ‘missing' items I had forgotten I had already bought at sales during the year!

Of course sleep was forgotten on Christmas Eve but not by my children. I was always the one up as soon as dawn broke, waiting in eager anticipation for the rest of the family to wake up - and when they didn't do it soon enough for me I would fire up the vacuum cleaner. Hearing the excited ‘ohhs' and ‘ahhs' as each gift was pulled out of the stocking and examined, held, stroked, and played with – or in my daughter's case one year - stacked up carefully and counted to make sure that her brother didn't have more than her!

Then we would pack up of the car to visit the relatives, as we always seemed to be the ones to travel. There were toys and gifts to take, food to contribute, spare clothes, hats and sunscreen. How the car ever managed to move was a miracle, so laden up it seemed, both at the start and the end of the day. The day then spent with relatives was always coloured with the joy and excitement of the children.

I don't have young children any more, they are grown and living in Australia. So for now, while I don't have grandchildren, I'll have to relive my memories of magical Christmas's past. To all, my very best wishes for the festive season and creating your very own magical Christmas memories.