Parenting Australia

Christmas Crackers!

It dawned on me on Sunday night just how close Christmas is - and I had a mild panic. While the presents to be given are mostly organised, we are still making some of them and haven’t sent out our Christmas cards yet. Christmas is next week - eek!

So there is a bit of festive hurry in our household. One of the issues that led to this flurry of activity is time (never enough) and another is the swapping of roles. Normally Christmas cards and presents are my domain as Harvey worked hours away, but this year as he was at home I left it up to him to organise (with a few gentle prods and suggestions).

Johanna Baker-Dowdell

The boys presents were bought and I was impressed. Harvey and Noah donned their aprons on the weekend to make edible tree ornaments as presents for friends and family and they looked great, but when it came to the finer detail of sending out cards and organising special gifts for parents and grandparents he seemed at a loss, hence my suggestion something be done in the next few days!

I don’t think it had occurred to him exactly how close Christmas was either. We know we have Noah’s day care Christmas concert on Friday and we have some Christmas events to attend, but I’m not sure the actual day had loomed until now. Needless to say he’s out organising cards and postage as I write.

This post prompted me to think about how things have changed in our household in the past few months. Those who follow my blog will know Harvey and I swapped roles in September and I went from working part time and looking after our boys Noah and Ethan, to working full time, while Harvey took parental leave from his full-time job.

There have been ups and downs as we get used to the different ways each of us parents, how each boy reacts to change, working out the family budget and simple things like the boy’s routine, but we’ve all come out at the end of this period as a stronger family unit. I’ve learnt to let Harvey do things his way (very hard lesson for me) and he’s learnt what it’s like to be at two little people’s beck and call 24/7. The boys have learnt what it’s like to spend some quality time with their dad every day, not just weekends, and that dad makes vegemite sandwiches just as well as mum (there was some debate initially as they weren’t cut right).

We’re looking forward to having some special time together between Christmas and New Year, with a few beach barbecues, visits with friends and trips to the park planned. So from my family to yours, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and very happy New Year. I look forward to sharing our exploits with you in 2010.

Has your household been awash with festivity, or are you having a mild panic like we are? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

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Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage).

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