december. 2011

What a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas we had!  Christmas Eve, which was Saturday this year, we did the traditional, open-a-present-which-are-new-pajamas-to-wear-and-wake-up-wearing-on-Christmas-morning.  I really love that tradition!  Especially because I feel like everyone’s pajamas get so worn throughout the year, it’s nice to wake up with new cute p.j.’s on. 

And this year, with Christmas being on Sunday, was a change.   Usually we are in p.j.’s all day relaxing and playing with our new gifts.  So it was nice to get up, get ready, go to church, and come back and open presents and relax.  I will enjoy the next 6 years of just staying in p.j.’s though, which means no pictures of mom except on those that are Sunday Christmas’.

You know, that most things kids want, are played with for a few days and forgotten.   We’ve even in years past, just hurried through a store having them pick a present they think someone would like so we could just get home and be done Christmas shopping.   So we decided to bring this idea back and use it again…all the kids make or give something to each person in the family.  No spending any money.  Wow, did they love to go work on those projects and be creative, and more than that, excited to give what they had made to each of us, and so proud of what they had accomplished or thought of!

And usually Christmas day is spent preparing the food for the afternoon feast.  But not this year.  We had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with the traditional “stocking snacks.”  This is a tradition from my childhood.  We would have a small box of cereal, string cheese, some hershey kisses, and a banana or orange.  So we would have snacks to snack on while people were opening presents.  

So Christmas was laid back, easy going, family time, and we enjoyed it so much!  We will continue these simplified ways for hopefully many, many years to come!

P.S.
If you seem to feel a little stressed decorating a tree with your children, because you want to be creative one way but don’t want to squelch your children’s creativity at the same time, I recommend two trees!  We always have a large live tree that the presents go under, and I decorate that one.  Then we have a smaller but still nice sized fake tree, that the kids can decorate any which way they want.  Then you both are happy, have a little extra cheer in the house with two trees, and nobody’s feelings get hurt while happy memories are being created!

The girls putting their new pocket knives to work…they love to whittle!