The boys are basically going crazy with joy. 
One bad thing is, we're away from all family this year. This isn't the first time, and it wont be the last. So for that reason, last night Doug and I were discussing what traditions we want to establish for ourselves. We made a list of traditions we remember from our families growing up, and now I want to know if YOU, Gentle Reader, have any fun traditions you want to share.
Something you did growing up, or something you do now. It can be silly or sentimental or spiritual or whatever. Help me out. I need cheering up!
I'd turn this in to a contest if I had any will to mail, but I don't. I have no will to mail. So just do it as a favor to me. If you want to enter a contest, go to Doug's blog. Maybe I'll contribute a little something to HIS prize package. And if I don't post again for another week, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
12 comments:
The classic nativity play!
Emily: You're such a great writer! I've missed your blogs, and I'm sure countless others have too. Jeannette has several fun traditions around Christmas. Snow balls rolled in coconut is one I remember. (Vanilla ice cream balls.) And she baked special things at Christmas such as little pecan pies-- individual sized and several others...
Hope you feel better, and have a wonderful Christmas! Love you, admire you, Mom xoxoxoxoxox
We:
-Set up the Christmas Tree and decor the day after Thanksgiving. Read "The Last Straw" and start secret pixies this night. Then draw new names every week.
-Make plates of goodies for school teachers (yes even all 8 of Ryan's) friends and neighbors early in Dec. Fun!
-Drive around to see the lights.
-We have a book of Christmas songs, scriptures and stories we read and sing every night before Christmas (evening devotionals). If you don't have one, we'll make copies for you. We love this.
-Do something adventureous and exhausting on Christmas Eve day so the kids will sleep well!
-Fun Christmas Eve dinner. When the twins were born 2 weeks before Christmas in 2000, we got take out from Pick up Stix. It was so nice and relaxing, we did it for about 6 more years. Then we decided we could cook on the Eve again and this year we're having crock pot bar-b-que pork tenderloin like we had when you guys were here in July, roasted carrots, garlic sauteed fresh green beans, fruit salad, Martinelli's and pumpkin pie with candles and on the china. The kids love it.
-Read the real Christmas story and do a nativity with the kids and various stuffed animals dressed up to play all of the parts. Open Christmas PJs on Christmas Eve (this year the budget won't allow for this, but usually)
-Cookies and a carrot out for Santa and Reindeer. Read Night Before Christmas. Bed.
-Stuart goes down to turn on lights, candles, and get the camera ready, then we go down all together to see what Santa brought, play with it and look in stockings, but wait until after breakfast to open anything so we can stretch out the fun!
-Have sticky buns, fresh fruit, light egg nog (mixed half with milk) and ham and potato casserole for breakfast. Buns and Casserole are prepared the night before and bake while we're looking at stockings and santa stuff. Then we eat a nice leisurely breakfast and then presents.
-We take turns opening youngest to oldest.
-We stay in our PJs all day on Christmas, have breakfast leftovers for lunch and dinner leftovers for dinner. We have Christmas music on all day too.
-Call parents.
-Stuart usually takes two weeks off every year to just relax with the family. We will take the kids downtown, go iceskating (LOVED your iceskating video), museums, playing, etc.
-Leave the decor up until at least New Years day.
Did I leave anything out Stu?
Is this enough detail for you? -Jenny
Aaron and I write each other silly messages on our gift tags. One says to Edward from Bella, another says to Jen's nose from Walgreen's. (that one is the biore nose strips I like)
Just silly stuff like that makes even trivial gifts fun and memorable.
If you've noticed my blog has been dormant for months cuz I just don't want to post anything. Nothing.
One tradition we love is caroling and delivering homemade stuff. Camden looks forward to it every year. That and going to a movie on Christmas day and re-enacting the nativity story. But those are pretty typical traditions.
Merry Christmas!!
One of my friends said they have sandwiches and snack foods on Christmas Eve and the family gets to open one present on Christmas Eve and it's always a game that they can all play together. So that's our plan this year, minus buying the new game part.
We've also invited some other families over that don't have family in the area for Christmas Eve and then we'll spend Christmas Day by ourselves.
We'll act out the Nativity tonight for FHE.
Hi! Don't know if I've commented before...
I want to start traditions for my own little family - just me and my husband and our kids. But we live on a family compound so I can't get away from the greater family. It's nice, yet it drives me crazy!
I posted a little bit about holiday traditions on my blog here and here.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
I have a story called "teach the children" and it talks about the symbols of christmas and santa narrates it. There are ornaments for each symbol. We read it to the kids and they get to put the ornament on the tree when it is mentioned. We do this before we put any other ornaments on the tree. If you want it let me know and I will email it to you its pretty cute. no offense will be taken if you don't want it either :) Christmas eve we have a birthday party for jesus cake candles decorations and all. We have a nicely decorated box that we write down the gift that we will give Christ the coming year and then read the gifts we gave him last year to see how we did. we are starting a new tradition this year of giving each kid a puzzle that we will do as a family on christmas day...they wake up so darn early we need activities to fill the day! :)
one more thing... to late to start now but fun for next year.. .someone is doing the twelve days of christmas to our family. Each night they ding dong ditch us and leave something on our porch.. the first day was a small fake tree with a little bird in it and they left some pears too. The second day they left a picture of a two turtles and a bag of dove chocolates. The third day was three cornish hens with french words on index cards rubber banded to them. The fourth day was 4 kid toy cell phones with little plastic birds attached to each one. The fifth day was 5 glazed doughnuts. The sixth day was 6 easter eggs filled with treats. The seventh day was origami (spelling?) swans on paper plates swimming in christmas candy. The eighth day was a box with chocolate and strawberry milk and on the outside 8 pictures of maids a milking. The ninth day was 9 cupcakes with pictures of ballerinas on them. The 10th day was a huge stick with 10 candy canes tied to it and 10 pictures of frogs (when you hold the stick and gently move it up and down you can make them leap :) )... we will see what we get tomorrow night.. the kids love it and talk about it all day guessing what it will be that night.
my favorite tradition is walking home from grandmas on christmas eve after having a party with my family, opening the pajamas and story, dad reading the story and then sleeping together down stairs (but we never end up sleeping) waking up on christmas morning and waiting for mom to get the camera, then dad to say that the grinch stole all our presents, then we check roudolphs water to make sure it is red from his nose, and finally we run upstairs to open presents! love you guys!! -whit
I have a set of red dishes that is brought out only for special occasions--Christmas,birthdays,anniversaries, and days one needs to feel special. We know if we get a red plate that we are being honored. Simple but effective.
I know this is late, but you can try it sometime. My sister-in-law has 6 kids. In their stocking Santa brings each child their very own personal box of their favorite sugar cereal since they don't get it through the year. That solves Christmas breakfast and each kid is happy to not have to share. I love this idea.
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