Merry Christmas!!! It has been a VERY happy day. :) I wanted to try and get this blog post up last night, but it took FOREVER for the pictures to upload, I had cinnamon and orange rolls to prep, and it took a LOT longer to get everything under the tree and in the stockings than I thought. By the time all of the above was done, it was almost midnight and I was super tired. And I figured going to bed (rather than staying up even later to blog about our Christmas traditions) was the wisest move on my part.
The inspiration for this post came a few weeks ago when Grace had an Activity Days Christmas activity where all the girls were asked to share a few of their families' traditions. Grace's response? "
We don't have any traditions." What?!?! Hahahaha. Crazy girl. We have too many traditions to keep track of, which is perhaps why her mind was drawing a blank when put on the spot to name something.
For the record's sake, here are all of our favorite Christmas traditions...
During the season:
We slacked off big time with remembering to ADD the straw this year, but I do love this tradition that I brought with me from my family growing up. The idea is to help everyone remember the real reason for the season by focusing on serving others. Ideally, we would gather together every night at bedtime to recount any service that was done during the day and add a piece of straw for each thing we did. That way, hopefully, the manger will be filled all the way up with hay before Christmas morning, so that baby Jesus will have a comfy place to sleep. This season, Alex REALLY loved monopolizing the family circle time with all of the "service" HE did during the day, and then putting in his straw. Hahaha.
- Hanging Christmas cards on the wall (and sending out one of our own)
- Crazy, last minute projects
This year's winner? Giving the kids' stockings a makeover on Christmas Eve. Hahaha. I decided a few years ago I was sick of the old-time-y fabric I had used on the the original stockings, and after making one for Alex a couple of years ago -- with brighter, more cheery colors -- I decided that I wanted to revamp all the others, too. I never seemed to have time to actually get this project done in the last year or so, but while watching "White Christmas" yesterday, I decided there was no time like the present, and brought out all the fabric samples I had been stashing away, selected my favorites, and started cutting out the stockings, cuffs, and loops for four updated Christmas Stockings! {
Scott LOVES it when I take on last minute projects like this. Hahahaha.} The sewing part took longer than I would have liked, but I still finished them up with plenty of time to spare. :)
{Alex's stocking}
L to R -- Ethan, Grace, Sophie, Jane, and Alex
- Watching "White Christmas"
My very favorite Christmas movie of all time. No Christmas is complete without a viewing (and singing-along) of "Sisters, Sisters" with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. And of course, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
- "Christmas" cereal (usually bought a day or two before Christmas, and when it's gone, it's GONE!)
The Christmas Eve traditions:
- New Ornaments for each kid
Usually these are given on Christmas Eve. This year -- since I had let the kids pick out their ornaments way back in the summer time {
Remember? The alpaca wool ones? Hahaha.} -- we just hung them up with the rest of the ornaments when we decorated the tree after Thanksgiving.
Every year I find myself wondering why I don't just buy multiple kits of the exact same house! Because every year finds the kids fighting over who gets to do what and when. But I guess that's part of the tradition as well. ;)
Ethan always ends up in charge of the icing bag...
And someone (sometimes everyone) ends up in tears at some point...
- Opening of Family presents
I know, I know. I can't help it! I just can't wait for Christmas morning to open all the presents. We started this tradition very early on in our family and open all non-Santa presents the night before. This year, the kids hit the jackpot because I found a bunch of really fun-looking puzzles and games at Barnes & Noble the day before, and I just
had to get them. :)
Grace's FAVORITE family present was this set of real "gold, frankincense, and myrhh" from grandma and grandpa.
We've been following the same "script" that we wrote up 3 or 4 years ago and it's a keeper! We narrate all the verses from the scriptures of the Savior's birth, intersperse it with song, and let the kids act out the key parts. We've done it on our own, we've invited other family friends in years past, and this year, we included the missionaries who joined us for dinner and the pageant.
A reluctant shepherd boy.
The angel.
The missionaries!
Joseph and Mary
"Fear not!"
A Wise Woman.
The narrator.
{She was REALLY excited to deliver the gifts to baby Jesus.}
I have a serious problem!!! Hahaha. These BabyLit board books are so adorable, though, that I just couldn't help it! An added fun feature to this "Colors Primer" is a hidden "ghost mouse" on every page. Alex LOVED finding them while we read it last night at bedtime.
Christmas Day:
- Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning
Prepped on Christmas Eve, I make up a batch of cinnamon rolls to have ready to bake for Christmas morning. This year I decided to throw some orange rolls into the mix as well, and in my greatest improvement to the process yet, I let the rolls rise completely the night before and then stuck them in the fridge overnight. It was a success!
The cinnamon half.
The orange half.
The thread method of "cutting" the rolls. Essentially you wrap a strand of thread around the roll and cinch it through. It works like a charm!
Ready to rise!
- Secret Santa Sibling Stockings
We started this tradition a couple of years ago, and I have to say that for THIS year, it was a bit out of control. Like,
seriously out of control. They basically had a whole Christmas in their stocking! We might need to make some modifications to this tradition for next year...
When Ethan and Grace were really little, I decided I needed some self-imposed boundaries and limitations in place to keep EVERY Christmas from being out of control. {
I have a tendency to go big or go home, if you'll recall. Hahaha.} We decided that for our family, 3 gifts (symbolizing the gold, frankincense, and myrhh for the baby Jesus) was the way to go. It amazes and delights me every year that the kids totally accept this reality. But then again, they DO know they have more stuff coming their way in those stockings...
I didn't take a picture of it, and technically we had the Gumbo on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day, but it is definitely a yearly tradition in our family to make a Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. I love it!
And there you have it! A whole BUNCH of traditions. We ended our night last night with one last round of "family" presents. (This Christmas is so out of control!) I wanted to do something meaningful for the kids that would represent what our family theme has been for the school year. After searching online, I found a website where you can generate your own "Keep Calm and ..." images, and created a poster to hang in our house, and cards for the kids to hang wherever.
"Keep Calm and Hold to the Rod" was what I decided to go with. And I have to say that it warmed the very cockles of my heart to see that the kids were genuinely surprised and delighted with their gift! Adding to the fun were some little "Iron Rod" zipper pull/key chains that I found online at Deseret Book, that I remembered having while in High School.
In the Book of Mormon, there is a parable of sorts that has an Iron Rod leading to a tree laden with fruit that is desirable above all else. In these scriptures, we learn that the Iron Rod is a symbol that represents the word of God. As we "Hold to the Rod" -- reading, studying and learning from the scriptures -- we will be able to stay on the path that leads to happiness and the fullness of God's love. I want my kids to know that Holding to the Rod WILL help them to keep calm and find peace no matter WHAT storms or trials or "mists of darkness" may come their way.
{I printed the poster at Costco first, but the color came out SOOO much darker than it was supposed to, so I printed one out at Walmart as well. Now there are two we can hang in the house! :) }
{It actually has "HOLD TO THE ROD" engraved in it.}
To close, I'll just say Merry Christmas once more! (And stay tuned for the coverage of Christmas Day!)
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