Holiday Traditions

We love traditions in our family.  Although it's not possible every year, we try to do the same things.  We also love to add new ones in to the mix!

I love reading/hearing about people's Christmas traditions.  I especially love the traditions that are passed down from previous generations.

I wanted to list a lot of the traditions that we do over the holiday season.  

I will start with the fall because that's really the start for us.

==We take a family photo every year for Christmas cards. Whether we have someone else take it, or I take it, we always do it.
==We ALWAYS host Thanksgiving. We have hosted since the first year we were married.  It's always so fun to plan the menu and have your whole family come over.  My kiddos really enjoy having the entire family over.  It's changed some since the early days, but it's still really great.
==We usually decorate for Christmas the day or two after Thanksgiving.  We put our tree up a little earlier this year, but we didn't start decorating it or the house until after Thanksgiving.
The kids help us decorate now and that is really fun!
==We try to buy 1 new item of Christmas decor every year. It is usually Santa related, but not always.
==Over the month of December, I like to do a lot of fun things.  This was much easier when the kids were not in school yet!
Some of the fun things we do include:

•  Ice skating
• Putting Christmas lights on the outside of the house
• Making cookies
• Writing letters to Santa
• Gingerbread house
• Hot chocolate/apple cider
• Watch Christmas/holiday movies
• Get a picture with Santa
• Book Advent- a new tradition we started this year
• the kids make cards for their teachers
• the kids pick out gifts to give to children for our church's Christmas store
• Christmas parade
• Talk about Jesus' birth

==We send Christmas cards.  I have adored getting mail my entire life.  I remember when I was kid, I would always want to go to the post office with my mom.  Cards during the holidays is like the big kahuna of mail!

==We look at Christmas lights.  We usually do it on the 23rd, but sometimes we go to special light displays earlier in the month.

==Since moving to Bentonville, we go to special Advent church services during the month of December.  I especially love our church's candlelight Christmas Eve service.  This is definitely a tradition that is at the top of my list.

==Tim loves playing on the guitar and singing Christmas songs.  We especially love to hear him sing the songs that he wrote about Christmas!

==We love to cook yummy meals during the holidays.  We love having time off during Christmas break and it gives us time to enjoy cooking and to be able to cook some things we normally don't have time for!
==On Christmas Eve, we always read the Christmas story from the Bible and we also read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
==When the kids get older, I want to start opening one gift on Christmas Eve.
==We have THIS tradition that I love! It was passed down from Tim's parents.  We do this every year with at least a few presents.
==After the kids are in bed on Christmas Eve, we are like crazy people wrapping and getting gifts ready to go under the tree from Santa.
==On Christmas morning, I set my alarm extra early so that I can get up before the kiddos.  I always have to put makeup on because I don't want to look terrible in Christmas morning photos!
==I always make monkey bread for Christmas morning.  This year, since we will be home the entire day, I'm also making a breakfast casserole.
==Speaking of being home the entire day, this is the first year that we are not travelling to see both families on Christmas day.  I'm really excited about being home the whole day with the kiddos.  We will still have Christmas with the other family, just on a different day this year.
==With Tim's family, we buy for all of the kids and the adults participate in a "Dirty Santa" game.  At my mom's, we buy for the kiddos and grandparents.  
==We keep our tree up until after the first of the year.

I'd love to hear some of your holiday traditions!