What kid doesn't just love this time of year. The lights, the Christmas tree, Santa Claus(well I never cared for him), presents, baby Jesus birthday, Christmas movies and music, and who can forgot all the sweets! Gotta love this time of year. I have been so rotten at keeping Christmas traditions alive since getting married. Not because I don't like traditions, but I haven't felt a deep desire to do all the work when it was just Joe and me. Now that we have a one year old my joy of traditions is working it's way back into my heart. I hope to pass on that same joy to Jake for family traditions. It is such a peaceful time of year for me, aside from all the parties and meals we share with others, I love to sit on my couch with a cup of tea, all the lights turned off, except for our tree and village and enjoy the peaceful glow that fills the room.
I researched Advent Calendars last night for a few hours, trying to find the perfect calendar either to buy or make. I am not a crafty person at heart. I want to be so I think I have pretty much settle on making my own Advent Calendar Banner for next year. Click here for the picture Advent Calendar
I am very excited about it. I have no idea how to sew but lucky for me I have several friends that sew and my mom, and mother-in-laws to help me get started on it. To go along with the calendar I am keeping my eyes out for a good Advent devotional book for kids that we can read to Jake.
I also really want to purchase a nice Nativity Set. Not the tacky kids ones that won't break, but one I can put on the mantle of my gas fireplace. I love willow tree but I will never want to spend that much money on one. They must be crazy! 300 plus bucks just to be displayed for a month!
Last but not least we WILL be hanging outside lights on the house next year! Every year I don't do it I regret it and I will not deprive my kids of not being able to enjoy watching their dad hang lights out in the freezing cold while we watch from the front window drinking our hot chocolate! Ha Ha! Just kidding Joe! My sister's and I did that to our dad a few times he waited a few weeks too long to hang them when the weather was nice out. Gotta love Dads! They will do just about anything for their little girls! Thanks Dad for filling up our hearts with so much love just with hanging a few lights on the house. Thanks Mom for putting up with the Christmas crabbies each year when we would decorate the tree and bake/decorate cookies. Loved every minute of it! I am sure my time is coming when I will have the crabbies because my kids aren't cooperating!
What kind of family traditions did you participate in as a kid and do you do those same things with your kids?
One tradition that both Jeff and I did as kids was to put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. We have continued this tradition and now we have started our own with the kids. Like Santa doesn't come to our house. He came to mine when I was a kid. But I don't think he went to Jeff's. I did a post about our traditions. On Christmas eve the kids each get one gift and it is always new jammies that are washed and ready to wear to bed. Christmas morning we open stockings first, eat a big healthy homemade breakfast, read from Luke the birth story of Jesus, then open the rest of the presents. We make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing the birthday song to him. We stay in our jammies all day playing with gifts and we don't go anywhere on Christmas day and no one comes over it is just our family. We started this when we had our first kid. It has made it so special to our family. We get together with extended family on different days around Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWe had an advent calendar when I was growing up that was a nativity scene. And for several years we had an Advent book series that we read called Jotham's Journey. But that's for much older kids than Jake. :)
ReplyDeleteOn Christmas we always get up at different times and open our stockings on our own so that the kids can be appeased at 6am and the adults can sleep until 8. :) Then we always have sour cream coffee cake aka birthday cake for breakfast and read from Luke. Then we go open presents, have a big dinner around 1 and hang out the rest of the day.
We never go anywhere but our house always has an open door policy and anyone can come stay with us for the holidays. :D