Parents will do almost anything to give their kids lasting memories. Marketers have always known this fact and much of the advertising around the holiday season focuses on emotional family connections around a plentiful table or Christmas tree. Who doesn’t love these scenes? The image of children running into the living room in their matching initialed jammies is enough to make even the Scroogiest Scrooge crack a smile. The sight of a grown man weeping as his wife surprises him with a new truck topped with a red bow on his driveway is hilarious and heartwarming. These holiday depictions are simply wonderful and also, they are designed to make the viewer believe that purchasing a product will produce a lasting memory for a loved one. So many people criticize the materialism of Christmas — believing that it is motivated by selfishness and greed. In reality, much of the materialism of the holidays comes from the earnest human desire to convey love to those we care about the most. What a wonderful prospect! What a worthy endeavor to spend our money and time on! The question is, do these marketers get it right when they tell us that certain products will give our families the ecstasy-filled holiday memories that they promise?
Many of us adults would do well to look back at our own childhoods to see what made us feel loved and happy during the holidays, or rather what made the holidays stressful or unhappy. Few children will likely remember their grandmother’s tablescape on Thanksgiving, but they may remember her inviting them to stand on a stool at the kitchen counter to help her peel potatoes or apples. Few children will remember the sheer number of Christmas gifts at any given year, but they may remember a particular gift that was so very sentimental to them — a gift they knew their parents worked very hard to bless them with that year. Few children have ever wished for new Christmas lights, a new tree-topper, or new Christmas stockings. Instead, it’s the familiarity of these objects that produces the nostalgia and excitement.
For those of us who have had truly disappointing or painful holidays in the past, they likely had little to do with the sub-par quality of products and had a lot more to do with unexpected life events, relational difficulties, or feelings like loneliness or anger. All of the presents in the world could not help a child coping with their parents' divorce, for example. A man grieving the loss of of his mother may have difficulty enjoying the expensive cigar he was given in the same way he used to. In reality, the emotional outcome of the holidays is largely out of our control — a fact that marketers and corporations aren’t interested in publishing in their ad campaigns. So what makes a home magnificent during the holidays? What will matter to our children and loved ones this Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Likely, the best gift we can give our families is presence of mind, patience, and genuine thoughtfulness. A child’s memory of playing with their parent on the messy Christmas floor will likely outlive the video a parent may be taking on their phone from the couch. A heartfelt letter from a husband about his love and gratitude for his wife will likely bring the tears of joy that the jewelry store promised their diamonds would produce on Christmas morning. Responding with grace and patience when a family member says something off-putting at the Thanksgiving table is an invisible gesture that is far more weighty and profound than the brass candelabra.
Our team at Flooring Direct Temecula is in the business of improving family homes. By that, we mean that we can install gorgeous wood flooring, we can create the walk-in shower of your dreams, and we can put plush carpet in your baby’s new nursery. However, the real improvement that happens in family homes is done by the family members that do the hard work of loving each other each day. That part of home improvement, we leave up to you. So during this holiday season, we hope that the magnificence in your home has more to do with you than with us!
