Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child

The joy that Christmas time brings is never more apparent than when seen through the eyes of a child. If you are a parent or grandparent, then you probably know how much this holiday means to the children in your life.

Close your eyes and think back…

Do you remember the joy you felt at Christmas when you were a child? Do you recall the first decorated store window? Seeing twinkling lights, pretty dolls, and shiny trucks that filled you with excitement and wonder? Everything was so innocent; so magical. Every kid filled with anticipation of Santa's arrival. Oh how they must be good because Santa could see everything they did!

A lover of Christmas and all its wonders, this holiday season is more special to me because I have been experiencing it through the eyes of my 3-year old grandson! So far this season we have taken in St Louis Festival of Lights, marched down Olive St following Santa to Macy’s department store, enjoyed curbside seating for the Thanksgiving Parade, and today rode the Holiday Magic Train to Edwards Jones Dome to visit the large indoor winter wonderland called Holiday Magic!

As we spent the day strolling through the magical holiday wonderland, I was reminded of the joy of being a child and the magic of Christmas through the eyes of my grandson. His eyes still sparkle with a fascination for the unseen, the fantastical, the impossible, and the magical. Every moment is an opportunity to laugh and dream, to do what we adults call playing, pretending, or make-believe. But there is nothing pretend about space rangers, cowboys, cowgirls, transformers, and super heroes, and the "bad guys" for my little grandson. This is his world. And perhaps, it is ours, too.

Christmas is a day to be reminded of one child's birth and gives us a chance to return to a time of innocence. To become children again and see the world with wonder – not the world as it is-- but what should be. We can't merely make the decision to do this. We need a child to lead the way, to show us what years of pain & disappointment have blinded us to. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child is the only way to see it, the only way to get past ourselves and believe again.

May Christmas always bring you an ageless magic to fill the heart and eyes of the child that lives in you.