I'm always looking for some fun ways to celebrate Christmas. And so I thought I would share a few things we do and maybe some of you will share some of your traditions.
- Tree trimming party - we have a family party and decorate the tree, sing carols, and eat yummy food. :)
- New ornament - every year, the boys get a new ornament to put on the tree and it's added to their collection.
- Daily Advent Devotions - we have a felt tree with felt ornaments that the boys take turns putting on after we read a significant scripture.
- Christmas books - I wrap up a book for each day of December leading up to Christmas. One of them chooses the package for the day and then we read the book together.
- New PJ's - the kids are allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve - it's new pajamas to wear to bed. I love picking them out!
- Baking & decorating cookies - the boys think this is great!
- Hosting our annual Christmas Open House - we all enjoy celebrating with friends and it's a great excuse to make a lot of food. :)
So those are a few fun things we try to do. We also enjoy choosing a few ministries/organizations to support as a family - we hope the boys will understand this more in a few years. And this year, the boys will choose some gifts to give others. Do you have any fun ideas or annual traditions?
5 comments:
That's a great idea to wrap up the Christmas books that you read each day!
A suggestion... if you haven't, start making a list of the boy's Christmas ornaments (the year they got them, who they got them from, etc). It will help you when it comes time for them to move out so they can take them (I know it seems like forever from now) and if they are at all like me (or marry a woman like me!), they'll really enjoy taking the list out each time they decorate their tree to remember when and from whom each ornament came.
Ooh, annual traditions... I don't know, there are so many little ones that I don't necessarily think about them being tradition, yet I know if they were missing, it would feel like a part of Christmas is missing. Getting a real tree as a family. Mom putting on the lights- no matter that her children are now plenty old enough to do it. Chocolate cut out cookies with chocolate frosting for Santa. Reading the Christmas story from the Bible as we all pack in the living room on Christmas morning. Garland strung from beam to beam. I just had to laugh as I remembered a new one- both my mom and my husband are "into" the Dept 56 houses and people. They try to out do each other every year, and then the day after Christmas, they both race to store to buy new ones that are half off. Ooh, ooh, ooh- singing Silent Night a capella at the Christmas eve service with only the glowing candles for light. I could go on and on, but I'll stop! I just love Christmas! :-)
I love the idea of making a list of the ornaments...we also buy Morgan, my niece Julia, and my brother and Patrick's sister a new ornament every year for their tree. I will start keeping a list for Morgan!
We did some traditions growing up that I hope to continue....this year Morgan made a paper chain to count down the days to Christmas. I hope in the future to tie those paper links to doing nice things for others in the spirit of Christ and the season. My husband's family always opens presents Christmas Eve and then stockings on Christmas morning.
It's been so hard for us to start a "home" tradition with Morgan since we travel every other year to my parents' house in FL and she is still so young. But I love your tradition of the books, and I have been wanting to do the pajamas tradition. I switched it up this year though and gave my daughter and niece their matching holiday PJs on Thanksgiving day! I also gave them each a Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set and I want to use that to teach Morgan the Christmas story. Do you or any of your readers have a good suggestion for where to find proper scripture readings to go along with that? I know Catherine does a Jesse Tree which I want to explore, but for right now I need to keep things simple, for Morgan and for me!
I love the book idea! Very fun. This is the first year that we are doing an "Advent" thing. I bought a Advent storybook & then I made "ornaments" with clip art & they hang the one up that goes with the story. We do the New ornament every year too(or we try to :)) We will make cookies. I LOVE Christmas!
You are wonder woman though, wow! How do you get everything done?!
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