Oh, my heart. Kaia, mailing her letter to Santa. I always thought it was such a sweet gesture that the USPS would send a letter back to the kids.
I don’t remember what was in that letter that day. But, I do remember that it was our first Christmas in Weaverville. I remember that it was one year to the week since we moved to WNC, and we couldn’t afford much. Michael was cooking at the Jack of Hearts, and I had started my virtual assistant business just a few months prior.
That was the year we had a homemade Christmas. I made felt boards with Mr. Potato Heads sewn on them and interchangeable felt accessories. We cut up blocks of wood in all different sizes and painted them. I sewed little mice whose homes were upcycled Altoid containers. Michael made me the most beautiful earring holder out of a repurposed cheese grater and a place to hang my necklaces on an old painted wooden picture frame. (Those remain the favorite gifts I’ve ever received, and we still have many of those gifts 7 years later.)
Since then, we’ve grown as a family, our financial situation has changed and Kaia now knows the secret about Santa, but one thing has never changed…the magic of Christmas.
Whether we had a homemade Christmas, or we were gifting the wishlist of a child we didn’t know or, like last year, we had an experience Key West Christmas with no stockings or material gifts at all, what remains at the core of it all is love, joy and generosity. And, as for me and my house, we choose to believe.
