How my grandkids turned Christmas into a full-contact sport
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Ah, the new year – time for fresh starts, big dreams, and, if you’re like me, an unapologetic celebration that the holiday madness is finally over.
Let me introduce you to the two main characters from my holiday story: my five-year-old granddaughter, Chaos, and my three-year-old grandson, Mayhem. These two are a walking, talking, screaming ode to their nicknames. Chaos has the energy of a double-shot espresso and the stubborn determination of a beaver building a dam in the dead of winter. Mayhem, on the other hand, is more like a hyperactive raccoon who’s somehow gained access to the candy stash. Together, they are a full-contact sport.
 Finding joy in holiday mayhem with the grandkids |
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The Christmas holidays with Chaos and Mayhem were as Canadian as it gets – fights over toques and mittens, arguments about who ate the last Nanaimo bar, and enough snow-eating to qualify them as honorary polar bears. Their greatest hits included screaming matches about who got to sit closer to the Christmas tree and a shared obsession with “sledding” down the stairs on anything vaguely flat. (Pro tip: cookie sheets are not an acceptable substitute for a Crazy Carpet.)
Christmas Day itself was a spectacle. Chaos, as expected, ignored the carefully curated toys we bought her in favour of turning the recycling bin into an “ice rink” for her dolls. Mayhem, meanwhile, discovered that the dog’s water dish could double as a wading pool, resulting in one soaked kid and a very unimpressed dog. And don’t even get me started on the Great Dog Park Snow-Eating Debate of 2024.
By the end of the Christmas season, my patience was thinner than the layer of ice on the driveway. But amidst the noise, the chaos (pun intended), and the occasional headache, there were also moments of pure joy – like the way they belly-laughed as they mixed up the choruses from Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, creating a holiday mashup that could rival any Canadian Idol audition. These moments of joy amidst the chaos were like little beacons of light, reminding me that the holiday season is truly a time of celebration.
Now that the holidays are behind us, I’m thrilled for the return of routines and the sanity-saving gift of school. But I’ve learned that surviving Chaos and Mayhem isn’t just about gritting your teeth and waiting for bedtime. It’s about embracing the absurdity, finding the funny in the madness, and knowing that even the most chaotic moments are temporary. This realization brought a sense of calm and reassurance, reminding me that the storm of Chaos and Mayhem would eventually pass.
So, as we start 2025, I hope you can channel your inner resilience and humour into whatever chaos you’re facing – whether it’s your tiny tornadoes or the taller, more stubborn versions we call adults. Remember, when all else fails, there’s always a Tim Hortons run waiting to restore your sanity. But more importantly, there’s always the power of laughter to turn even the most chaotic moments into cherished memories.
Here’s to fewer meltdowns, more laughter, and just enough chaos to keep life interesting.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Faith Wood is a professional speaker, author, and certified professional behaviour analyst. Before her career in speaking and writing, she served in law enforcement, which gave her a unique perspective on human behaviour and motivations. Faith is also known for her work as a novelist, with a focus on thrillers and suspense. Her background in law enforcement and understanding of human behaviour often play a significant role in her writing.
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