What a difference a year makes.
This time last year, we were introducing Finley to the lights, music, and excitement of the holidays. And for a one year old, the lights and the music were pretty much all the excitement she needed. Heck, the wrapping paper meant more to her than the presents inside. But it’s all changed.
Finley is now into it. She helped decorate our condo-sized or Finley-sized tree last night. And she’s quite interested in the concept of the stockings. She likes to point out whose stocking is whose. And she’s just a tad into the music.
She’s roaming around the house singing “Jingle Bells” at the top of her lungs – she may not know all the words, but she knows when to shout “Hey!” She’s also very aware of Santa Claus and his job in this whole “give me what I want” scenario.
She’s still young enough to not understand the reward system that the Santa thing entails. She knows the words to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” but it’s clear she doesn’t understand them. There’s not much watching out and the pouting and the crying are still in play. In her defense, she’s really not at the age to completely understand the concept of a list of naughty and nice kids. If you ask her, she’s always on the nice list.
In fact, her whole understanding of Santa is that he’s here to do her bidding. She knows what she wants and she’s pretty much decided Santa’s bringing it all. Basically, she thinks he’s me. And she’s right. Well, actually, I’m sure there are a few grandparents out there that will help in providing the joy.
At this point, if you ask her what she wants for Christmas, it’s a pretty generic answer. She’ll either say, “A Dora present” or “A Ariel present.” She’s not into specifics, just yet. I’m sure the time will come when she’ll be able to rattle off exactly what type of Dora present or what color of dress this Ariel is wearing or what songs are included on this Dora DVD. But for now, anything with Dora or Ariel will suffice.
All in all, her excitement for the big day is still a ways away from peaking. As we get closer to Christmas, I’m sure it will be all we can do to keep her from exploding. And as she gets older, the excitement along with the planning and strategy that kids employ during this time of year will begin to reveal itself. We’ll have to work a little harder at hiding the presents and pushing the other side of the whole season, which is the giving aspect.
Hopefully, she’ll learn that as much fun as it is to get gifts, it’s equally as heartwarming to give them away and even help some less fortunate kids at the same time. Whether it’s donating some time or clothes or even a few old toys, we plan to get Finley in on the giving side of Christmas.
For now, we’ll listen to her mumble her way through all the Christmas songs and talk about what Santa should bring her. He’s making his list alright. A list of all the things she wants. How many Dora presents could there be out there, anyway?
