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Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Traditions

When I was growing up at Christmas there were things I would do every year with my family, they were our traditions.  I remember helping my parents decorate the tree and it was always my job to set up the manger (despite the fact that I'm a heathen).  We always went to the Rockport Christmas Pageant and I was even in it for many many years until I was finally Mary.  My mother always made sugar cookies and we always helped her decorate them.  My father would always read The Night Before Christmas to us on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning Santa used to leave our stockings on the end of our beds so we would open our little presents first and let our parents sleep just that little bit more.  We weren't allowed to see the tree in all it's glory until my parents were awake and we weren't allowed to open presents until we had a breakfast of bagels and smoked salmon.  We always opened presents one at a time and when we were done at our house we went over to my grandparents house for more presents. 

I fondly remember all those Christmas traditions with my family and hope to be able to start some of my own with my children.  Some I'm going to steal from my parents like reading The Night Before Christmas before bed on Christmas Eve, going to the Christmas Pageant, opening presents one at a time, putting stockings at the end of the bed and decorating cookies.  But I also hope to create some new ones. 

Next year I think we'll invest in the Elf on a Shelf and start that tradition.  This year Lizzie helped me decorate the Christmas tree which had to be one of the best days I've ever had with her.  Lizzie also helped me make some chocolate pretzel snacks tonight which I think would be fun to do every year.  I also bought all the kids matching pajamas which I plan to give them on Christmas Eve.  I want to start some other traditions with them as well.

What are your Christmas traditions?

2 comments:

Carrie27 said...

So many of these traditions were my families as well.

Night Before Xmas - check
Decorating Xmas cookies - check
We started Elf on the Shelf this year and I love.
I want to do a gingerbread house or village.
Kids get an ornament in their stockings from St. Nick every year.

The Olsons said...

Rebecca,

I enjoyed reading your Christmas traditions list. I really want to start some traditions with our family, but this year Christmas snuck up on me (how does that happen) and I found myself too tired (no surprise there).

We did...
a batch of Christmas cookies
some of the pretzel candies you posted
picked out and decorated the tree (Daddy lights, Hannah and I ornaments, Gracie... well she "helped")

I would like to do...
some crafty things with the girls leading up to Christmas
some kind of service project like adopting a family and helping with their Christmas (something my kids could get involved in)
a special Christmas Eve or Christmas Day tradition yet to be determined
Christmas PJs, ornament each year...

You gave lots to think about. I'm going to need to plan better!