*~*Merry Christmas*~*
There's a rumor that Christmas is only 2 weeks away! Ok, my calendar shows it too ;-) And Hanukkah is only 12 days away!
I would love to hear any Holiday traditions you have...food, Santa, gifts, games, etc. Was it a tradition you remember from childhood; do you continue it; have you started any new traditions?
I think the one consistant thing we do each year is on Christmas morning. First off, you must stay in your p.j.'s, preferably as long as you can LOL Everyone gets to empty their Santa Stocking at the same time...unlike the night before where only one gift at a time is opened. Then we have Christmas Bread, otherwise known as Cardamom Bread. My Mom & Dad make it, and I swear I could eat a whole stick (loaf) myself! It is braided which makes it even nicer :-) After warming it in the oven you put a mix of sugar, cinnamon, and a little coffee (makes a "paste") over the top. Part of the fun is licking this mixture off your fingers as you eat it. My preference is to dunk it a little in my coffee. The kids don't yet see the delight in this.
The pictures are two of my all time favorite Christmas time pictures of our kids...from a "few" years ago.
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One of our family Christmas memory/tradition is homemade frosted sugar cookies that a neighbor of my Aunt makes. My brother and I have been getting these cookies since we were small children. Now our children look forward to getting them at Christmas too! We have tried and tried to make them like she does. But we can never get them quite right! It would not be Christmas for us without the cookies to fight over!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures of your children are Simply Adorable!
This family tradition may be controversial -- we *always* opened one present on Christmas Eve. Sometimes before evening Mass; sometimes after. It made Christmas Eve more than just the day we finished wrapping presents and putting them under the tree! And helped extend the excitement of Christmas, too.
ReplyDeleteFor stepfamilies and blended families, it is important to maintain old holiday traditions as well as create new ones. With five children combined, we have so many ornaments they won't fit on one tree. So, we put up one Christmas tree with all of the ornaments the kids made and cherish, and we put up a second tree with any new ornaments.
ReplyDeleteTo ensure we have family time with our kids who are now 12 to 23 years old, we take the entire family to a Christmas show or concert every year. They love it, and it affords the opportunity for some bonding time between stepsiblings and parents.
And, my husband and I have established our own new tradition of never expecting to celebrate the holiday on the same day. With a joint custody schedule, stepparents and stepgrandparents, and kids away at college, it was too stressful to try to line up the schedules. So, we have decided to accept that our celebration may not be on Christmas Eve or Day. In fact, when all of the kids are grown and on their own, we may set aside the first December of every month as our household holiday in hopes that everyone can make it.
That's what matters most to us.