Christmas Traditions

The time has come for me to defend myself a little bit. LOL But for realz! Jaedyn and I were decorating for the Christmas party one night and I overheard her tell someone that we don't have any Christmas traditions in our family. I thought, "Man! Why am I so pathetic?" But as the season has gotten into full swing and our holiday life has commenced, I have realized... We do too!!

So, I'm keeping a record... if for no one else's sake, then for my own! Cuz apparently I take things my children say at face value. But their interpretation is not always accurate!

I love Christmas! I love the season. I love the smells and the treats and the people and the love and the snow and the music and the color and the lights and... I have to come up for air... It is all so wonderful! 

One of our first traditions is to decorate our home the day after Thanksgiving. That's our Black Friday! We set the tree up, hang the stockings and one of my favorites is the garland on our stair rail. Not my favorite to put up of course, but definitely the decoration I enjoy the most.

The local Owen's Family does a 30 minute light show across town. They coordinate their lights to music and really must spend so much time doing it. We sure appreciate it. We pop popcorn, bundle up, and head over to watch the show each December. 

We spend a few days making treats for friends, neighbors and coworkers. This is a full day project usually and involves caramel apples, chocolate caramel pretzel sticks, and Christmas chex. We usually play music and work together, though this year I was late getting on it and ended up doing most of it while the kids were at school. It still is tradition to deliver it together though! And eat the leftovers!

Plus the usual stuff, like... We go caroling to a few neighbors almost every year. Usually with friends so the group is larger and less awkward. We play in the first snowfall together and if we can, we build a snowman (though admittedly this is sometimes in October!). The kids draw names and go shopping for each other on Dad's dime. The kids LOVE giving their gift on Christmas morning. On Christmas morning we take turns opening gifts rather than doing a free for all. That way everyone gets to enjoy each and every gift. Do those little things count?

On Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story together, sing a hymn and get out the German Nativity. This is a tradition from my home. We each pick an object in the nativity, share with the group how it has had significance for us in the last year and then light a candle on the nativity. When all the candles are lit, the fan begins to spin, we turn off the lights and watch it. Then we unwrap Christmas jammies and climb into them! Chad started a new tradition of games with prizes on Christmas Eve which has really been fun. 

And though it isn't a Christmas tradition, it does come around during the Christmas season and that is the tradition of waffles and ice-cream at an insane hour on New Year's Eve. This is another little gem from my childhood.