LEGO has been a big part of our family life for the past five years. Not a Christmas has gone by without a new box of LEGO making its way onto the wish list and then, without fail, we spend a few hours on Christmas Day constructing the newest addition.
Indeed, those wonderful coloured bricks always provide the perfect opportunity to slow down, have fun and connect with the kids. It’s quite relaxing to sprawl on the floor and find the elusive missing piece (the competitive in the family are usually the ones to find it). This year, with a crawling baby making his way around the house, we’ve taken to constructing on the table.
Our latest project? A Christmas star made of LEGO bricks – vibrant, unique and wonderful, it was the perfect activity for a rainy weekend.
We spent a few hours collecting the best bricks and other pieces, adding some and taking others away, and then making sure we could thread a few LED fairy lights into it. A true joint effort! Once it was complete we slipped on our gumboots and made our way to the farm to choose the perfect tree for us (small so we could put it on the bookcase out of baby’s reach).
Later we retrieved the Christmas box from the garage and the children excitedly uncovered the decorations, the fairy lights and the Christmas books. It’s moments like these that reinforce the importance of the little things at this time of year. During the busyness and overwhelm, it’s the simple tradition of building a star, trimming the tree and listening to carols that is the most magical.
Our decorations have grown with our family – there’s preschool felt creations (heartwarming in their kookiness), little wooden elves with rainbow hats and baubles purchased when my pregnant belly was just as round. There’s a few vintage decorations from my own childhood and some that have been gifted to us from loved ones. This year our family-made LEGO star is a brilliant representation of our days – chaotic, colourful and bright; it’s the finishing touch to our slightly wonky Christmas tree. And the fact that we sat down and created it together? Well, it was the perfect way to officially begin the countdown to Christmas.
As we prepared our beautiful star and Christmas tree, it gave me pause to realise that once again the weeks are flying by. It is so easy to get caught up in the long list of school activities, drama rehearsals, dance concerts and Christmas preparations that are quickly filling up the calendar, but I’m determined to make sure we find pockets of time to slow down and relax together as a family during the festive season. Creating our LEGO Christmas star was the beginning of that – we switched off and spent time working on a beautiful family project together. We shut the front door and our computers, put our phones on silent and focused on what truly matters.
When we take the time to say no to the busyness and yes to simply being together, we can make the time to connect in a profound way at Christmas time. Long walks in the fresh air (personally I think that the best conversations happen when you’re walking beside your children) and snuggling on the couch reading Christmas books together are two that recharge and restore without fail. When building this year’s LEGO Christmas star, I realised that we have found another very special way to be creative and connected as a family.
What are your special Christmas traditions?
This post was brought to you by LEGO.
More fab things to do with LEGO:
- The ultimate creative project for young kids
- 5 LEGO challenges for beginner builders
- DIY LEGO polymer clay pendant
Images: Jodi Wilson
