Christmas Traditions Old and New

Christmas Traditions

(Old and New)

               We all have them, some better than others, some you look forward too and some, well you don't. I'm talking about Christmas Traditions, things passed down from when you were younger or new ones you started for your own family. Growing up we had a few traditions that I remember loving to do each year and looked forward to them as Christmas drew closer and closer. 

My Mom's tree this year

              The first to start the Holiday season was getting together and finding the mighty Christmas Tree. Running through the field filled with trees, we all would look for the one we liked the best and would point it out to my Dad who in the end gave the finally "I like that one, we are getting that one". Our tree was always too big for the space that my mom prepared in the living room but we would make it work and fit it in. Then came the decorating the tree, and my family will back me on this one, my father had to have enough lights on the tree that  you could light up the night sky with it alone. I mean you could feel the heat coming from the strands of lights when you stood by it! But they were always the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Complete with a village and train under it, the Christmas season had begun for our house.

                                      

           Our next yearly tradition was going to the grave sites of loved ones who had passed and placing flowers on the graves. As a kid I never cared for this one, it was weird to me. I always thought "what is the point?, its not like these people can see or care about the flowers". But we all did it just the same every year, because we knew how much it meant to our Father. He would always stand in silence at his Dads grave and then start to tell stories about his Dad and growing up. As an adult I realize the importance of this tradition for my father, although he knew his Dad was gone, it was still a way to somehow connect to him and reminisce about him to us children who didn't get to meet and know him. Now knowing the reason for this still doesn't make it my favorite tradition specially since now one of the graves I visit is that of my Fathers who passed away in 2013, but i get it, I get why we all had to go and why he had to do it. I'm carrying that on with my kids and its funny because I hear the same questions I had at their age and Danny just tells them "mommy just wants to visit Pop-Pop". I know that as they get older they will understand little by little, then they will be the ones carrying it on to their children and I smile because in a way my Dad is passed down in more than just stories and pictures.

            Christmas Eve was always an excited time simply because we knew that we didn't have to wait til Christmas morning to open our gifts. Well, at least not late Christmas morning we got to open them at 12:00am and it was so much fun! All 7 of us would go into my brothers' room since theirs was the biggest in the house and we would play,talk,tell stories,sing songs,and try to peek under the door to see if Mom and Dad was carrying out the presents yet. Every once in a while we would yell out to our parents and ask if it was time to come out and open the presents yet. our Dad would then yell "No be quiet or we wont call you and you will have to wait till later to open them!". This reply always got us to shut up, even though we all knew ,that himself couldn't wait to watch us open them and there was no way he was going to make us wait. The shenanigans that went on while we waited was hilarious, I remember one year us singing "shes a brick house" but changing it to different types of housing....log-cabin, apartment, double-wide, so on and so on. Or putting a scream mask that glowed in the dark on a long stick turning the lights off and taking turns flying it around the room trying to scare one another.  We then patiently waited for our Mom-mom and Aunt who lived right across the street to come over and get settled because we knew that then we would be called to dig into the giant pile of gifts that awaited us. It seemed like it would take them forever to make the extremely short trip from their house to ours but it built up the anticipation like crazy. Before we knew it our Dad would say "Come on" and we flew out of the room and to the tree. Christmas Day we went to my Mom's Mothers' house to visit and open the gifts that she had for us. The rest of the day was filled with visits to and from relatives and of course dinner at the end.

                               As time changes, so do traditions. We all slowly but surly grew up and got married one by one. With the change of not being under one roof anymore, we started the tradition of going to one an-others house. Picking on the trees (because you always have the best one), seeing what we got our kids for Christmas, telling stories and enjoying the company of each other. Then moving on to the next sibling and their family. Its hard to do since there is so many of us but so worth it to see the people who helped mold you, into you.  I hope that our children will continue this tradition with each other and stay close.

                                 For my family personally we have started some new traditions that Danny and I didn't do as kids our selves. Our First is that we go and the kids pick out a new ornament each year and get to have a mini tree all their own to hang them on. They love to do this and I might add that it gets quite interesting with what they pick. We have a giant fish, fancy poodles,  Sponge Bobs, Hello Kitty, and animals of all kinds. I'm so happy we started this and its so fun to look at all the ornaments every Christmas and guess whose is whose.

                             Second we have the lovely Elf on the Shelf. This has become such a great tradition in our household. Buzz as we named him comes every year on thanksgiving night although this year he was going to be late(I forgot where I had stored him for the year) but thankfully he made his way and arrived right on time. At first I was kind of spec-ital of doing this and Danny was totally against it. But after watching the kids run down stairs to find him, it makes all the finding new places for him worth it. Christmas Eve he always has a gift waiting for the kids that morning which includes new pajamas and either a movie or book for them to share.

                           We always read the story of the First Christmas during Christmas week. I love hearing the kids ask questions about Jesus. The fact that they know the reason for the season warms my heart and that Christmas isn't just about the gifts they get.  The night before Christmas we always read the Night before Christmas while settling down before bed. This year I'm excited to have Ethan and Kamree read some of each story to everyone.
 
                         Unlike my childhood we wait til late Christmas morning to open the presents. By late I mean the kids are up at 6:00am and begging to open their gifts. My Father and Mother in law come over that morning and watch the chaos and give the children the gifts they got them. Following the madness of wrapping paper flying, ohs, ahs and wows we head out to my sister in laws house for Christmas breakfast. Then we head to my moms house and visit with her and whoever may be there at the time. 

                       I t is such a crazy jammed with action day but so worth it when we see the faces on each of the kids as they experience Christmas and all its magic.

What are some of your Christmas Traditions?
Are there ones you don't like or stopped doing as you grew up?
What new traditions did you start with your own family that you didn't have as a child?