See: Arrogant Worms - Christmas Hangover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ZVwdP9iho
It wasn't actually that bad.....
We start the season with the season, on the Solstice. I had decided years ago that I wanted to have a Solstice dinner as a family, so that Christmas could be spent at my parent's, or wherever, and we wouldn't be trying to be in 3 places at once. The last couple years I've been so preoccupied that we havn't done anything, but I actually had the foresight to think about it this year. We had a clove ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli. SO yummy, and very 'wintery'.
I remember last Christmas Toby really had no idea what to expect, and each time he opened a gift he played with it for 20 minutes and didn't really care to open anything else. After Christmas he was a tantruming two year old for weeks from being so overwhelmed even though we play Christmas pretty quiet here.
This year he knew what to expect. Every morning for two weeks he asked if his stocking was full yet.
I keep trying to emphasize the GIVING and CREATING of gifts FOR people, but his one track mind keeps going back to asking how many presents under the tree were for him.
I was expecting the same mess-of-a-post-Christmas-kid as last year, but he's actually been really good so far. He got a lot of books and PJs and things and only a couple really cool toys, so he's been playing with them and not seeming overwhelmed.
Before Christmas, however, was when he had the big meltdowns.
We woke up at 5 am Christmas morning because he had a nightmare (I'm assuming due to the yelling and thrashing in his sleep) and he wouldn't settle back down. He kept demanding I get up and he didn't want to be in bed anymore. I don't even think he knew it was Christmas, he just didn't want to be there. I kept saying we weren't getting up until the sun was up, but he never went back to sleep, just yelled and hit and kicked and sobbed all over me. A couple times I said that he needed to chill out and I was trying to help him and that if he's getting to overwhelmed then we're putting all the gifts away and we're not going to have a family Christmas time if he's being rude. I got hit some more and yelled at some more and sobbed on some more. I was, at this point, not in the Christmas spirit at all. I was completely prepared to pack up the gifts and only let him open his stocking, MUCH later after he calmed down.
I think at this point he started realizing it was Christmas morning and further demanded to go downstairs. I made him wait til 7 and then carried his sobbing overtired self down to the couch where he immediately demanded to nurse while I had a melt down. *Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay Christmas*
He eventually got very quiet and was being very deliberately polite...
"Ohh, mummy look how pretty our tree is"
"yep"
"And there's a note pinned to it!"
"yep"
"Can we read it?"
"whatever"
He turned on our tree lights and 'ooh'd' and 'ahh'd' at it again before bringing me the note from Santa. We read all about what a GOOD boy he'd been this year and how SMART and HELPFUL he was.... I was still half debating just telling my family to put off presents for another day.
He opened his stocking and then ran up to show stuff to Grampa. They had breakfast and read some books while I grumbled away on the internet trying to cheer myself up.
A few hours later everyone was up and the mood was better and we started opening a few things. He actually handled it all pretty well. The day ended up pretty good.
We Skyped with family in Holland.
Turkey dinner.
Lots of chocolate.
Not too bad.
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