It is hard to believe that the Christmas season is here again and almost over already. This is our second Christmas in Japan and so far it has been a lot smoother than last year. I was a little more prepared this year and had most everything ordered by October with some left to do in early November. I really wanted to be able to enjoy the season this year instead of focusing so much on buying presents during the month of December. With Mike being away from us for the first half of December (taking a course for the Army in San Antonio, Texas) I knew that I would need to get going with some of our traditions before he got home. I love the idea of traditions. Over the years we have incorporated both our childhood traditions as well as some new ones. I am not sure I have ever written down our traditions so here it goes:
Our first tradition this year just like every year is to SET UP AND DECORATE THE TREE. We usually do this the day after Thankgsiving and this year was no different. This is also when we start listening to CHRISTMAS MUSIC. Thank goodness for Pandora! We never thought we would love having a fake tree but it was seriously one of the best investments we have made. Our 8 foot prelit tree is beautiful and super easy to set up. Each year we pull all the ornaments out and let the kids go free with decorating the tree, putting the ornaments wherever they like. My only stipulation is that I get to put red ribbon around the tree and no one can mess with it. This year Abby got to put the star on top of the tree and she was so excited by that. We don't have fancy or matching ornaments for our tree. Our ornaments are a wonderful mix of things we have collected over the years, childhood ornaments from Mike, and a few that the kids have made in school. I love that our tree is simply a step down memory lane. The kids love seeing their favorite ornaments each year. Some of our favorites are the nursery rhyme ornaments my mother gave to us a few years ago (Three Little Pigs and Hickory Dickory Dock), the Spokane Carousel (got it on the 100th Anniversary), the Canoe that Mike got from our good friend Josh, the triathlon ornament my parents gave me when I finished my first triathlon, the red penny farthing bicycle ornament from Mike's childhood, the pewter Santa key with our last name engraved on it that we got as a gift for our wedding, the silver bird, and all the little ornaments my parents buy the kids with their names on them.
Next, we pull out all of our CHRISTMAS BOOKS AND MOVIES. This year I was able to put the books in the empty shelf in the TV stand. It was perfect because they were front and center where the kids could get to them easily. We have no particular order in which we read them. Every year we try and and add a new book to our collection. This year I didn't get a new book so I will have to be on the ball about doing that next year. We showed the kids "Home Alone" for the first time and needless to say they all loved it, especially the boys. My mom was super great and bought the kids the Classic Christmas Collection with Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,and many others. I have always wanted to have those movies and now we finally do. The kids have been having such fun watching all of the classics.
On December 1st we are visited by our ELF whose name is Jack. He is a very popular fellow around here and every morning the kids race to see who can find him first. We really like our little Elf...he is a cute little guy!
Every year I make Grandma Candace's POPPY SEED BREAD to give to neighbors, teachers, and friends. This year I made over 30 mini loaves which is quite a feat in my small oven. The kids asked me why I always make the poppy seed bread and I told them because it was super yummy but more importantly it reminded me of their Grandma Candace (Mike's mom) who was always so giving and forgiving. Since it is the season of giving it seemed appropriate to remember her and how much she gave to others. Making her bread makes me feel like she is still with us.
This year I pulled out a super fabulous PEANUT BUTTER BALLS recipe from a friend and decided this was a must for every year. They are just so delicious that I think it just wouldn't be the same without them. This will be a new tradition for us.
Some years we make GINGERBREAD HOUSES but this year we didn't do it and I wasn't overly sad about it either. The kids didn't even say anything so I guess they were ok with †hat too. I guess this is one of our when it works out traditions.
Another new tradition was born when the kids starting asking me for hot chocolate. I hated going into the pantry and digging in the back for the can of hot chocolate so I came up with the HOT CHOCOLATE JAR. I decided to put out a special glass jar full of hot chocolate powder. I liked the idea of easy access for the kids to make themselves some hot chocolate especially as it has started to get colder outside. Andrew has been super helpful in making everyone hot chocolate. We are all reminded by the girls to not forget the marshmallows. I think I will have to have a special jar just for marshmallows next year. I also filled some smaller jars with our favorite holiday candies. My favorite is the Christmas tree nougats and the kids like hershey kisses. We also set up our cute ADVENT CALENDAR filled with chocolate candy pieces. Most years I fill them with the mini reeses peanut butter cups but the kids wanted something different this year so I bought mini candy bars like snickers and milky ways and they really liked that. We rotate days starting with the youngest and that seems to work out rather well (a few complaing words were uttered at first from the older crew).
This year we also started a new tradition for our family and had the KIDS DRAW EACH OTHER'S NAMES. At school there was a special holiday store open the week before school got out. Andrew, Peter, and Emma went with their classes to the store and bought presents for each other there. I took Abby out and helped her pick something out for Emma whose name she drew. All of them were so excited to put their presents for each other under the tree. This year Andrew bought for Peter, Peter bought for Abby, Abby bought for Emma, and Emma bought for Andrew.
A couple of days before Christmas we decided to go ICE-SKATING as a family and loved it so much that we decided we must do that every year right before Christmas.
Growing up my mother always made our special DINNER ON CHRISTMAS EVE. I have continued that in our family as well. We also do a NATIVITY PROGRAM where the kids get dressed up and act out the story of the birth of Jesus while we read from the scriptures and sing songs. After our spiritual program we let the kids open one gift which is always new Christmas pajamas. We take a quick PICTURE IN FRONT OF THE TREE, say family prayer, quickly decorate and set out our SUGAR COOKIES FOR SANTA, read "The Night Before Christmas," and tuck everyone in bed. Christmas morning is as follows: Everyone wakes up, let's mom take a picture at the top of the stairs, runs down the stairs to see what Santa brought, plays for a little while, then we open all the rest of the presents and then eat cinnamon rolls! It's simple and totally low key which is how I like it. We stay in our pajamas ALL day long. When the kids are all a little older we will start the tradition of going to a movie on Christmas Day like my family did growing up. For now we will enjoy staying at home being super duper lazy!
In the spirit of trying to keep our focus of Christmas all year long we have decided on a new inspired tradition. There is a family in our church who decided to save all the money they would have used on Christmas this year and put it towards a worthy cause. For a couple of months they saved the money which was no easy feat for this family of 7. At first their older teenage girls were not happy with the decision but as they slowly started seeing the blessings and the miracles of what this money could do to help someone else their hearts started to change and they were moved by what they were doing. I was so touched by this that I decided for this next year we would do something to help us remember the spirit of Christ. Every month we will contribute something into our new Christmas fund. When the kids earn money we will encourage them to donate what they want. As the time draws closer to Christmas we will decide where we want the money to go towards. The possibilities are endless. I am so excited for this new tradition that will help us focus on Christ by remembering to give all year long.