There are so many wonderful things about Christmas time. So many incredible stories, songs, rituals, foods, and even movies. From Advent calendars to The Nutcracker Ballet to Nativity scenes to gingerbread cookies, there is certainly something for everyone to enjoy.
Personally, I love it all!!!! I come from a family that clings to our holiday traditions. We expect every Christmas to be exactly the same, with the key players just a little older. The tree, which we cut down together, must scrape the living room ceiling. We love the same music {Manheim Steamroller, anyone?}, the same cookies, and even use the same gift bags!!
My husband is not as enthusiastic about the repetition associated with Christmas traditions. To him, we are free to create our own, and has graciously allowed me to take the lead in doing so -to decide which traditions are worth passing down.
The only problem I have is narrowing my choices down!
In light of the multitude of great things surrounding Christmas, how do you decide which will become part of your family's set of traditions? Do you carry them on from your childhood, or create your own?
{I love traditions. Make visiting me one of yours!}
20 comments:
Great post...I love traditions...at the same time my daughter (9) has inspired me to do something different this year..and I think we have started a new tradition...my daughter loves France, so we did some research on France and adopted some of their traditions...instead of stockings...they place their shoes at the fireplace...I created a 'bistro' style Christmas in our front room with garland and lights with Christmas music playing in the background. I am going to learn how to make crepes and every morning we are going to eat at the 'cafe'! She had her hot chocolate in the 'cafe' this morning before school..heehee!
Ours is a hodge podge of traditions, both from my side and my husbands. While we don't go nuts, I do have some special ornaments from my husband's childhood and my mom's cookie recipes. It seems like our Christmases are different each year, at least this year with only (so far) having a 3 foot artificial tree and not a real, ceiling-scraping one.
We do a little bit of mine and my husband's and we even do a few new ones..
I've never been very tradition-ey or ritualistic by nature, but every year I find myself surprised to be wishing I still had all the Christmas decorations we had when I was a kid. Boy I miss that silly stuff!
My family didn't celebrate Christmas when I was a child (sad, isn't it?) so I now try to think of Christmas traditions for Shiloh. We have a few already, but I'm always looking for more.
I never really thought about it but some things just naturally were repeated from my childhood, and I guess those must be the ones that are most important to me.
Your post really hits home with me right now as we celebrate Ian's first Christmas, I don't know what to do.
I love tradition...whether reliving the old or creating new.
My husband brought a whole new aspect to the holidays for me with Hanukkah. Now at our house its just a big mish-mash of love<3
DO come over for some latke's and gingerbread!
--Congratulations on your dot com!--
Sara Sophia
One tradition I love doing with the kids is drinking hot cocoa after decorating the tree! LOL, but we drink alot of hot cocoa anyway!
We sort of have an equal blend of traditions and trying something new ... since Scott is a pastor our schedule through the holidays is really crazy w/Sunday School parties and extra church events ... so we are often modifying the things we love. But, we always begin our December with Casiday performing in "The Nutcracker" and end Advent with the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church followed by a long tour through the area looking at lights with our Children's Pastor & his family. There are lots of other things we do (and try to do) but that's the beginning & ending of Advent for us.
The only Christmas tradition my husband and I have continued is driving around town on Christmas Eve to look at the lights, and then coming home for hot chocolate and a movie. I think our son enjoys it.
This is where my family & I have the most difficulty. My childhood was full of tradition, and the Hubbies, not so much. So, when all I want to do is spend the Holidays with my Parents and Siblings, the Father In Law and Mother In Law intrude. They want us there for Christmas Eve, and most of Christmas Day, leaving very little time with my family (which are more fun might I add). There's nothing traditional about what InLaws to do...they just want us all to themselves. I'd like to break out and do my own tradition...but how do I do that without causing family division?
Thats when my favorite Holiday Season with it's wonderful traditions, begin to cease being fun at all.
My husband and mine grew up with very different traditons so we're big on creating our own.
There are a few things we've agreed on, but we like to create our own.
My husband and mine grew up with very different traditons so we're big on creating our own.
There are a few things we've agreed on, but we like to create our own.
I LOVE FAMILY TRADITIONS... it's my favorite part of the holidays. And it's cool to see that we're making up some of our too... how many years does it take to become a tradition... I'd say TWO!
I love Christmas and traditions... I love putting up the tree with my children, celebrating with my family on Christmas Eve, seeing my children's faces opening presents... I love it all! It's a magic time of year, for sure. My favourite holiday! I also love shopping for presents for others, and wrapping gifts, and getting the house all festive looking.. and of course, baking sugar cookies! :)
Our traditions are still young and formative. Both my husband and I come from broken families where there weren't a whole lot of "traditions" so we are definetely creating most of our own from scratch.
I think we are going to string a popcorn/cranberry garland for the first time this year. We'll see if it becomes tradition or not!
Some of both...but my daughter found the same Santa book the other day that I used to read to her and she bought it and was so thrilled that she had found it! Come say hi :D
A bit of both. it's the first Christmas my husband and I will spend together.
We're dumping the turkey, at least this year. The only thing stopping me from seafood buffet (the other traditional Christmas meal here in 105F summery Australia.) is hubby's hatred of fish >_<
We both went against tradition for the tree this year, and to be honest, we both love it! Both our parents trees were thrown together with a bit of everything, we love having a bit more structure to it (though, I think we'd love it even if it was scraggly and messy, being our first tree). However I kept the tradition that he puts the angel on top and I place the first bauble, which came from my parents. I expect that in years to come he will probably also be the one to hand out the presents.
I think this year we are breaking more traditions than we are keeping, I suppose it depends which ones meant the very most.
Love this post! I, too, am very serious about my Christmas traditions. Growing up my family had many traditions that we stuck to year after year, everything from spending the day making Christmas goodies to my sisters and I sleeping together Christmas Eve to our special Christmas breakfast of sausage balls, eggs, and biscuits.
I continued these traditions the Christmas I was engaged and our 1st Christmas as a married couple (except the one where my sisters and I all sleep in the same room...don't think my husband would've been too comfortable with that).
However, things have begun to change the past couple of years after we started having kids. The traditions I had with my family just aren't the same with my husband and kids. We've decided to make some traditions of our own. We're still celebrating Christmas with our extended families, but we've decided to stay at our house Christmas Eve and celebrate Christmas morning just as a family of four.
I still love my family dearly and cherish all our traditions, but I think it's really important to start some new traditions with my NEW immediate family :)
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