Explaining Holidays to your Kids

With the Holiday season in full effect, I am finding myself struggling to explain what a holiday is to my toddler. Halloween was fine. Having experienced it, Juliette definitely gets it now. The Trunk-or-Treating at her school was a great warm up for the real deal that night, but there is really no deeper meaning to Halloween that I felt obligated to explain. Am I wrong? I mean, it's the one day of the year where you can wear a costume with no judgement and you knock on a bunch of doors and get candy. That's it, right? We read lots of Halloween books about dressing up and going trick or treating. The candy really sealed the deal as to the significance of Halloween for my girl. It's the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays I am struggling with more.

Thanksgiving is next week and today we had her class feast. I was trying to explain Thanksgiving to her a few days ago, but at two, the best I could come up with was "it's a day to say 'thank you' for our family and everything we have and love." I feel like "giving thanks" is a hard enough concept to explain without bringing in the Pilgrams and Native Americans. Juliette loves a party so I think that aspect of it today was enough to pump her up for next week. Maybe we will go to the library tomorrow and see if we can find any good books on the subject. I am completely open to other mommy suggestions!! 

And then there's Christmas... the deepest of them all. She has been watching Christmas Peppa Pig on repeat (at her request), so she understands the concept of Santa Claus, but I feel bad letting her think that's what Christmas is all about - being good to get presents. When do you introduce the religious aspect of it? Three years old? She definitely doesn't get that yet. Does that make me a bad mom to let her do just the Santa thing this year? I'll have to see what books exist on assisting in this area as well. We did see Santa at the mall over the weekend...from a comfortable 25 feet away. I'm not sure even Santa will be a positive experience this year. I told Jules she has to tell Santa what she would like for Christmas if she wants him to bring her presents, but even THAT was a difficult concept to explain... wanting. I almost didn't want to explain that one. She has two things on her list, an Elsa doll and a baby stroller, so I think that's OK. Although, I feel like I led her to those gifts so I hope she will like them!! She needs more toys like a hole in the head, but maybe we can take some old ones to Goodwill and adopt a family in need so she can understand at least the giving aspect of the season as well. 

Parenting is hard!! I'm hoping to fine tune these things for when we go through it all over again with Eloise.