People sometimes ask, "What's it like to prepare Christmas for seven children?" My response: Ask my wife. I just have to pay for it all, which is a huge task of course, but it's spread over the course of twelve months, whereas my wife's efforts are concentrated into about five weeks.
But I have a few observations about Christmas in general and Christmas in a large family that people might find interesting (for new readers, I have seven children, ages 15 to 3):
1. I wore my pedometer Christmas Eve after the kids went to bed. I logged in over a mile of walking, just carrying presents up the stairs to put under the tree.
2. It takes almost three hours to open, not counting the stockings (which they tear into as soon as they wake up). Marie and I buy approximately eight presents for each child, plus the children buy for each other . . . fifteen per person. They also buy for Marie and me, and Marie and I exchange a few presents Christmas morning (though we exchange most presents after the kids go to bed Christmas Eve). My parents also come over. The result is nearly 150 presents. Wasteful Americans or healthy celebration? I can't decide.
3. We don't spend as much on the children as other people in our "socio-economic" class. I simply can't bring myself to drop $500 on a child at Christmas (and drop $2,000 to $4,000, just on children's gifts). I don't condemn those who do, not at all. If I had fewer children, maybe I would, too. I sometimes feel bad that my children suffer such "want," but then I look at all their stuff--cell phones, iPods, libraries of computer games, more books than Evelyn Wood could read--and just snicker at the idea that they're even remotely deprived.
4. We continue to celebrate Christmas to the eve of Epiphany. We give each child a small gift every morning. Most gifts cost $1 or $2, but there are some pricier ones in there. Credit my wife with the amazing hassle of organizing those "twelve days of Christmas" gifts. We started the tradition when our youngest were just toddlers, because we remembered the "post-Christmas blues" and wanted our children to have a softer landing. I've never seen a trace of pCbs on their faces, so I think it works. I also like the idea of emphasizing that Christmas isn't a one-day affair. If more Americans got in touch with the rhythms of the liturgical calendar, they'd be happier.
