Reflections of a Toddler Christmas
I came across this piece from Galloway Joe titled The Joy and Sadness of a Toddler Christmas and felt inclined to step away from my normal musings to share my own reflections on the subject.
My daughter turned two in October 2023 — putting her at just the right age to be enchanted by Halloween — and then swiftly Christmas.
She is my first and only — for now. I think I was more excited about witnessing her take in the magic of the Christmas season — than the actual day itself. Our town does a pretty good job of dressing up for the holidays. Poles, trees, and other shrubbery are strewn with lights. Store fronts have large wreaths. Many shopping centers will have Christmas music playing indoors — and outside from speakers masquerading as rocks.
From Thanksgiving onward, she was joyfully mesmerized as we drove through town on our daily errands.
I introduced her to the 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer — which became a daily watch.
She eventually settled on some favorite songs — subject to change.
- A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives (Burl voices the Sam the snowman in the aforementioned film)
- Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Jackson 5
There were others but those are the big-ticket ones.
The culminating event was our Christmas night excursion to an annual holiday event that transforms a local hotel into a winter wonderland — rich with traditional Christmas charm.
We have a lot of good memories but I'm sad now that the season has passed. And in hindsight, it feels like it went by so fast.
Next year she won't have quite the same sense of wonder. She may no longer think some of the light-up animals are real. And she may no longer request to see the “polar bear with the red scarf”. ʕº́גº̀ʔ
The bittersweet passage of time.