This year is the first year that we will be staying home on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Usually we wrap the children up and head all over God's wonderful country side to try to visit as much family as possible...
Christmas Eve with my Mom - 45 minutes away
Christmas Morning with hubby's parents - 2 hours away
Christmas Evening with my Dad - 1 hour from hubby's parent's
and then back to hubby's parents to spend an extended visit.
We have loved this routine for the last six years but now with three babies to tote, it just is too much. Last year, I kid you not, when I say that 20 minutes from home I had to have hubby pull over into some poor person's yard just so that I could puke!
Yeah, great memory there.
Anyway, I have decided that this year we will set some traditions. I think that we will wait to Christmas eve to get the tree. Decorate it on Christmas Eve and then roast Marshmellows in the fireplace. Then, I think we will put the wee ones to bed and then watch a Christmas movie with our six year old.
So, here is a question for you. What unique traditions do you do as a family? Please leave me a comment and I will choose my favorite and send you an early Christmas present. What will the gift be? I dunno. Maybe some Yankee Candle Votives...maybe a gift card somewhere, maybe a fun Christmas ornament...maybe some coal!
Anyway, just leave a comment and a way for me to get in touch with you if you win. Entries will be accepted through December 6th!
Thanks to my friends who entered this contest! For a long time my friend Michelle was the sole person in the race to win. To be fair and honest I used the random org generator and guess who won-Michelle! Merry Christmas!
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7 comments:
That is a lot of traveling to do ... and you're right ... with 3 kiddos it probably would get to be too much! I think the traditions that you're starting w/the tree and marshmallows sounds wonderful!
What a fun idea for a giveaway too!Some of the things we do are:
- but each other an ornament every year. We open them on Christmas Eve to hang on the tree
- We put up our artifical tree the weekend after Thanksgiving; break out all the Christmas music CDs and have hot chocolate
- We go to the Candlelight Service on base; after service we drive to the next town to look at the luminarias they have placed all around
- We go to the base Christmas tree ligthing
- We drive around different neighborhoods to look at the different light displays
Our traditions include:
Grandma coming and staying for a good week 1/2.
Some kind of house reconstruction project during the week grandma is here.
If I get my butt in gear this year I plan on decorating a little box for each kid and when they wake Christmas morning they will have a little box with something special in it, it could be a hersheys kiss or a special pencil or something. I will keep the same box and use it every year.
Wow I can't believe you did all that traveling with 2 kids! Since Lance we drastically cut down going places. You will enjoy it much more that way.
As for tradition we are working on that. This will be the first year we don't have Christmas eve with my grandpa. My family is hard to gather during the holidays so I just decided this year would be about MY family, meaning my husband and Lance.
We also decided to do a Jesse tree this year. It's not going exactly how I wanted but the whole point is learning and teaching the real truth about Christmas and as long as that gets across to Lance I am happy. Next year we will make all the ornaments to go with the countdown.
We also buy each other ornaments every year. We had nothing when we started out now our tree is covered!
We put up our tree Thanksgiving weekend and take it down after the new year.
We also open 1 gift Christmas eve and save the rest for Christmas morning.
Hope this year brings great new traditions to you and your family!
Hooray for you on staying at home and spending quality time with your immediate family! I'm sure by having a more relaxing Christmas Eve and Morning, you will be able to enjoy your kids' excitement more!
On Christmas Eve we always read the nativity story. Baby Jesus is not in the manger yet...then on Christmas morning the first thing we do is put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then we run to open presents. We have also made a birthday cake for Jesus... the kids can decorate it however they want with all kinds of sprinkle, marshmallows, jellybeans, chocolate chips, etc. Those are some of the traditions we do in the Helems household.
My family always acts out the Nativity story on Christmas Eve. Since we are staying home this Christmas, too, I'm not sure if we will try to act it out with my 2.5 yo or not. With just the three of us it might not work so well. But we will definitely at least tell the story!
I'm definitely too late for your contest, but thought I would throw in my 2 cents too since I adore Christmas traditions:
1) Santa stops by while we are at Christmas Eve Mass to drop off PJs for the family to wear to bed :)
2) We make Monkey Bread Christmas morning.
3) We let everyone open presents one at a time (well...as much as you can with little ones) so all can savor the moments.
4) We put our tree up the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving b/c we love to have the house decorated for as long as possible!
Yeah for you getting to stay home! I love starting traditions with our family!
I'm definitely too late for your contest, but thought I would throw in my 2 cents too since I adore Christmas traditions:
1) Santa stops by while we are at Christmas Eve Mass to drop off PJs for the family to wear to bed :)
2) We make Monkey Bread Christmas morning.
3) We let everyone open presents one at a time (well...as much as you can with little ones) so all can savor the moments.
4) We put our tree up the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving b/c we love to have the house decorated for as long as possible!
Yeah for you getting to stay home! I love starting traditions with our family!
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