Creating Christmas Memories That Last

I’ll always remember the first swing set we surprised our girls with for Christmas.  It was a smaller set purchased from Sam’s Club.  Randy spent the day before Christmas Eve working for hours to put this set together.  I somehow managed to keep the curtains closed all day so our curious girls wouldn’t peak out into the backyard.  That night brought us both out into the freezing cold to try to get the final touches on this playset we were determined to have done by Christmas Eve.

The next day, I asked my daughter to open the curtains and there was her dad swinging away.  She excitedly called out for her sisters to come see.  Minutes later, they were bundled and headed out to play.  It was a memory that has lasted all these years later for us and more importantly, for them.

Because mass market sets typically don’t last too long, we eventually upgraded our Sam’s Club set to a Backyard Adventure’s Playset.  Because this was a much larger set, the surprise element was a little lost, but when dad got to work in the backyard again, and they figured out what it was, the excitement was still the same.  Because they were a bit older now, they wanted to help.  When the playset was done, the girls were thrilled and eager to play. It was and still is one of their favorite elements of our backyard.

Let’s be real, we can pile on the presents, and our kids love the excitement, but it wears off.  The Christmas memories merge into themselves and sadly, neither we nor our kids can remember what they got for Christmas last year.  But, when you give a gift that sits out in the yard, a gift that creates memories not only of that special Christmas, but again day after day after day, you are creating childhood moments that are indelible.

by Ida Cisneros

Mom of three sweet girls