The Christmas Magic Children Hold in Their Hearts
by Penelope Willis
There’s something about December that turns the whole world softer.
Lights glow earlier.
Homes feel cosier.
Little ones seem to shimmer with that fizzy, quiet excitement only Christmas brings.
On this week’s podcast, I talk about The Magic Children Remember, but here I want to explore something deeper.
A richer look at the kind of moments that actually stay with children… and how we, as parents, can gently create more of them without exhausting ourselves.
Because the magic they keep in their hearts isn’t found in the “big bits” of Christmas.
It’s tucked into the small, ordinary, in–between moments that feel warm and safe and simple.
- The cosy rituals become their anchors
Children adore predictability at Christmas.
Tiny traditions, even if you think they’re silly, become the things they look for year after year.
Some gentle rituals you can start now:
- Switch on the Christmas tree lights together every evening
- Share a five-minute “candle moment” before bed (battery candle works beautifully)
- Do a “warm hands, warm hearts” hand-hold after coming inside
- Stir the hot chocolate together and let them choose the mug
- Whisper one nice thing about the day as you tuck them in
These cost nothing.
But children carry them for decades.
- Slow, simple sensory moments make deep memories
Christmas can overwhelm little ones — loud shops, bright lights, sugar, late nights.
So giving them calm sensory experiences helps them feel safe.
Try:
- “Quiet light time” turn off the big lights for two minutes and watch fairy lights twinkle
- Listening to rain on the window under a blanket
- Letting them feel cold frost with warm gloves on
- Making a tiny winter treasure box: pinecone, ribbon, a little bell, a sprig of something green
- Choosing a gentle Christmas scent for home perhaps: cinnamon, orange peel or vanilla
These sensory moments settle the nervous system and become part of their emotional memory of Christmas.
- They remember how we slowed down with them
The pace of December gets wild for adults.
But children remember the flashes when we paused.
A few simple slow-down ideas:
- Have a “one-song tidy” with Christmas music
- Sit beside them while they play with the tree decorations (even two minutes feels like magic to them)
- Look out of the window together at dusk
- Lie on the floor under the tree and gaze up with them
- Let bedtime take five minutes longer for a Christmas story under a warm lamp
It’s the stillness that stays with them.
- Let them help, even though it’s messier or takes longer.
Little ones feel valued when we invite them into the Christmas “doing.”
Let them:
- Place baubles anywhere they want on their own section of the tree
- Stir, sprinkle, roll, pour, messy baking is memory-making
- Choose one decoration to go on the table
- Wrap one small present with you (expect chaos… enjoy the giggles)
Children remember feeling included.
Not whether the paper was straight.
- Protect your own energy, because children feel that too
This part matters more than anything.
A child can sense stress in a room like a fairy light blowing out.
They may not understand it, but they feel it.
So give yourself permission to:
- Lower your expectations
- Cancel something if you’re tired
- Buy simpler food
- Embrace the imperfect.
- Sit down more
- Rest
- Do Christmas at a pace that feels human
The calmer you feel, the more magical Christmas feels to them.
Even if everything is slightly wobbly and nothing looks like Instagram.
- The small emotional checks become their lifelong comfort
December is dazzling… but also overwhelming.
Try these little emotional touchpoints:
“Show me your Christmas face”
Let them pull silly faces and calm faces , it helps them name feelings.
“Is your tummy excited or busy?”
A gentle way to check for overwhelm.
“Would you like a quiet cuddle or a wriggly one?”
Teaches emotional choices.
“Let’s take a snowflake breath”
Breathe in… blow out softly as if a paper snowflake is floating away.
These are the moments that teach emotional safety, the kind of lessons that last forever.
- The imperfect moments are the ones they cherish
Ask any adult what they remember from childhood Christmas…
It’s rarely the perfect dinner or tidiest tree.
It’s:
- A parent laughing while they burnt the sausages
- A wonky angel that never stayed straight
- Sitting on the floor wrapping presents together
- Eating chocolate coins in pyjamas
- Being carried up to bed sleepy and warm
- A cosy story before the big day
Children remember love, not performance.
And that’s the heart of it.
Children hold Christmas in their hearts through the tiny, ordinary moments that felt warm.
The ones where they felt seen.
Safe.
Close to you.
Not the perfect.
Not the planned.
Not the polished.
Just the gentle, human, beautifully messy magic of being together.
So this December, don’t worry about doing everything.
Just do a few small things slowly… and with love.
That’s the magic they’ll keep forever
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