Taylor Winerfest: When it’s your LAST Christmas filled with “magic” and COVID cases rise, what to do?

The Manor House decorated extravagantly, toured, and then celebrated with s’mores over the open fire has gone virtual, visits with Santa are via Zoom and Skype , and Children’s Wonderland, which has been a tradition ALL 40 years of my life, has for the first time ever been canceled. And I get it, COVID. Our numbers are up and we don’t want to do anything that might spread the virus and harm others. But what if this is your last “magical” Christmas? I know what you’re thinking, aren’t they all “magical”? Sure. But, as parents, let’s be honest, there is something extra special when you have a child that still believes in the magic of it all, elves, Santa, St. Nicholas, etc. And that’s precisely where I am. I have my very last child, my youngest, she’s 10 years old, and we all know what that means, this is our last year of celebrating the “magic” of Christmas.  And while COVID took my oldest two kiddos goodbyes from a school they were at for 7 & 9 years and has robbed them of the joys that comes with in-person orientations, first days, making friends, etc. at their Junior High and High School, (and let me tell you, they have been AMAZING sports being home since MARCH),  I refuse to let COVID ROB MY FAMILY, MY KIDS, OF ONE MORE MEMORY THAT THEY WOULD/SHOULD TREASURE FOR A LIFETIME. This will be the last Christmas we have a child in our house that believes in the “magic” of Christmas. And that same child just expressed that she wished to have “technology free” days during the weekend. Apparently between remote schooling and virtual lessons, gaming and chatting with friends she’s exhausted. She requested that we please do something that requires us to leave these four walls and actually go somewhere, to do something REAL. SCARY, right?!

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