Christmas traditions make the holidays fun! We have old traditions, like decorating my mom's sugar cookies (which are the best), and new traditions that sometimes stick and sometimes fizzle. This year I wanted to make note of the things that we enjoyed and check back in following years to see if they are still around.
1. Sugar cookies - I love my mom's sugar cookies. They have the perfect texture and are always soft, never hard. When frosting is added they soften a bit more, which makes them even more irresistible. Decorating cookies and setting them out for Santa will always be a tradition.
2. Decorating personal Christmas trees and setting out nativities - Each kiddo has their own mini Christmas tree and although I sometimes want to skip the set up and take down process, the kids love having them in their rooms. Additionally, they love the decorations that adorn each of their trees. When I suggested to Audrey maybe updating some of her tree decor, she adamantly declined, because tradition is about fondly remembering the familiar not the addition of something new.
They also enjoy setting up their nativity sets and placing figures in certain spots. Audrey always has all of her figures facing baby Jesus, with their backs to the rest of the room. Amelia likes her figures clustered in groupings, with people paired with animals. Avery has tendency to keep people in a grouping and animals in a separate grouping. Each setup is different and reflects personal taste.
3. Advent Calendar - I have a Santa themed hanging advent calendar with a pocket insert for every day leading to Christmas. The kids enjoy picking out candy, placing the candy in the pocket insert, and deciding who gets to go first. This little tradition really helps the kids keep track of how many days they have until Christmas arrives.
4. Advent spiral - I love our advent spiral. It's perfect for counting down the days with baby Jesus being the central focus. This year we paired the advent spiral with readings from "The Greatest Gift" and hanging of ornaments that corresponded with each reading. If I'm being completely honest, it was kind-of a chore ensuring that reading were done nightly, but the kids enjoyed taking turns doing the readings, and this really helped our family focus on Jesus being the reason for the season.
4. A Christmas Carol - For the past two years we have attended "A Christmas Carol" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. For Shane and myself this production really kicks off the holidays and is something I don't think either of us will tire from seeing. I seriously hope this is a tradition we continue for years to come!
5. Books - In the past we have read holiday books, but this year we took a break from this tradition and did "The Greatest Gift" instead. Additionally, Avery enjoys reading on his own and somehow if all the kids aren't present I feel like something or someone is missing. However, with baby Agatha in the mix hopefully we restart this tradition again, as Amelia and Audrey still love to listen to a good book being read aloud.
6. Christmas Tree - This year we bought a real Christmas tree, something Shane has wanted to do for years. However, I am allergic to pine trees and have been hesitant to have one in the house. This year I caved and we bought a huge Christmas tree. I admit it was fun having one in the house.
7. Christmas Lights - This year the day after Christmas we put on our Christmas PJ's made some hot chocolate and headed out to see some Christmas lights. My all-time favorite Christmas light showing was at Bellingrath Gardens in Mississippi...really fantastic. The lights in Colorado are a little lacking, but The Broadmoor does do a nice job of decorating for the holidays, and that is where we enjoyed lights for a second year in a row.
8. Goodies for the neighbors - I have always tried to make Christmas goodies for our close neighbors, but in this neighborhood they make Christmas goodies for what seems like at least two blocks. The kids are great about helping me make goodies, but they most enjoy passing them out.
