With Christmas approaching, I've been thinking about holiday traditions. I think it's so important for kids to have traditions to look forward to each year.
We have a couple of traditions, but I'd like to incorporate a few more while the kids are young. I'd love to hear what your family does on Christmas eve/morning!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Christmas Traditions
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We have the same dinner every Christmas eve -- Polish cheese blintzes. That's my Mom's tradition that I've kept up. We also always have fried cauliflower on Christmas as well as lasagne and a regular meat dish. so I guess our traditions are food. Oh, and my Mom made a stuffed santa when my son was an infant and we take his pic with santa every year. I guess that's it!
every Christmas, since my son was 3 years old, we have had a birthday cake for Jesus. it is His birth we are celebrating, so i make a white cake with white frosting and on Christmas Eve we would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. my son is now 24 but still wants the cake and the memories that come with it.
Elf on the Shelf: check B&N dot com; our elf is Chris and he shows up on Dec. 1.
Open one small gift on Christmas Eve
Read Luke 2 from the King James version
Birthday Cake for baby Jesus (like Susanne!)
Standing Rib Roast Christmas day
Church candlelight service
On Christmas eve my children would get to open one gift. Of course I would pick out the gift for them to open. The gift is new pj's. The new pj's look good when taking pictures Christmas morning. My children are now grown but still look forward to the new pj's Christmas Eve :)
We have had 19 Christmas's with children in the house.... my youngest is 7 my oldest is 19.... as my parents did with me and my brother we do with our kids... up Christmas morning, put on the Christmas music, make some yummy hot drinks... coffee, apple cider, cocoa....take photos and then gather around for the reading of the Christmas Story read from Luke 2 followed by a short prayer and then taking turns opening up gifts/stockings. Followed by a meal. Several years ago because of having five children we decided to draw names and each person was given so much to spend and one name with their wish list to shop for... it was a secret who had who and on Christmas morning it is revealed with each person writing a letter to the person they had drawn. The first year was very touching and everyone decided that it was more fun to do it this way than having mom and dad buy all the gifts.
Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior. But if we would treat everyday like Christmas our world would be so different.
christmas eve we let the kids open one gift. We bake a batch of cookies and listen to Christmas music. We put out the cookies for Santa along with a carrot for the raindeer and a cup of hot cocoa. Then we read Twas the night before christmas, put the kids to bed and wrap presents. We put them under the tree and go to bed. Christmas morning up @ the crack of dawn throw breakfast casserole in the oven make coffee and hot chocolate. Open gifts. Watch the parade and the kids will play with gifts while we get food together for company.
P.S. we ALWAYS do an advent calender with little gifts inside. We also leave our shoes out for ST. Nick Dec. 6th for candy or coal.
We spend a day up in the capital (in our case, Edinburgh - yup, SCOTLAND, BABY!!!!) just wandering, looking, enjoying. It's not a shopping trip, it's a chance to share the magic of big city festivities and then come home to our quiet little home !! WE always take the train up too as 3 yr old DD LOVES trains !! I too am building up my traditions, one I'm going to adopt this year is a Christmas day photo album a la Stacey Julien idea. I think it'll add to the decorations and provide a lovely reflection time in the future! Oh, 1 more. I buy 1 special decoration every year. Just because. xx
Christmas Eve, we always read (past tense -- kids are grown) a children's book version of Jesus' birth. My kids do this with their own little ones in their homes now. Then we went to a church service. As they got older, we chose the 11 p.m. service, which always ends at midnight with the lights dimming and candlelight being passed from person to person throughout the small church as we sing "Silent Night." Gives me warm feelings just thinking of it!
Christmas morning, we do brunch with fresh fruit and sweet bread and "Christmas casserole" of eggs, cheese and sausage. We still do this as a family, even with little ones who must be at their own home for Santa, and in-laws to visit for other meals, we reserve mid-morning on Christmas Day as the one time we can all be together.
We also open one gift (of PJ's!) on Christmas Eve. Each year, my kids also get one new ornament, and it is wonderful to reminisce and decorate the tree with the ornaments from past years. We have just our little family Christmas morning, then relatives for the afternoon and dinner. All in all, a wonderful relaxing day!
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