A Stepmom’s Christmas Carol: Lessons From the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future by Christina Roach, LMHC, NCC, DCC
The holidays are one of my favorite times of the year. Decorating the house, baking Christmas cookies, sipping hot cocoa while snuggled together watching snowfall … throw in some carolers and you have the makings of a picture-prefect celebration.
Whether your style is to go over-the-top during the holidays or take a more laid-back approach, there are most likely traditions you’ve carried with you from your childhood. They’ve become part of how you define the holidays. Without them, the festivities would seem a little less merry and bright.
It’s expected that when two people come together they’ll have varying ways of doing things. Given that holidays are steeped in tradition, a dance commences between partners to figure out which traditions will make the cut in the new union. Throw in the step dynamic and the negotiations become that much more complicated.
With children in the mix, the decisions as to how a holiday will be celebrated become even more difficult. To understand why, let’s see what lessons may be learned from Charles Dickens’ Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. …To read the rest of this article, log in to your account and download the December 2015 issue. Don’t have an account? Click here to subscribe.