For this post, I teamed up with Patience Brewster to share my little list of holiday traditions. Patience Brewster is an artist and designer of holiday greeting cards and ornaments. Her Christmas ornaments are tastefully made and very inspiring.
Christmas is all about family, and friends who are like family, next to Jesus Christ. Although it is fun to receive gifts, and we have an excuse to gorge on delicious food this season, I find it more meaningful to start our own Christmas traditions as a young family. For me, traditions are important in making and preserving wonderful memories of the family. I think the activities we do as a family, simple as they may be, are what strengthen our bond, what make each family member feel valued and loved; above all, they are what the children’s roots of faith are built on.
What I want for our Christmas family tradition is uncomplicated. Here’s my plan:
- Have the children participate in decorating the Christmas tree. That actually happened this year. I think they’re old enough to help. Or it was the eldest who hanged the majority of the decor. I didn’t quite see because Ella said it was a surprise. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that from the bottom to a little past the middle of our artificial tree is where the ornaments are concentrated. So the top part wouldn’t be too bare, I strung most of the ribbon there, plus a few pieces of decor I plucked from the crowded branches.
here’s the result! I love it!
- Make personalized ‘thank you’ cards to give to people who will give them gifts. This will reinforce an attitude of gratitude, I hope.
- Collect their pre-loved clothes and toys, to purge our home and to give to those in need.
- As what we have done before, like almost every year, have a Christmas eve meal (dinner, usually) with our extended family.
- On Christmas day, in line with my intention of keeping Christ in Christmas, we will pray to God together to thank Him for sending us His Son. Then we will have a delicious breakfast before opening the gifts, while taking photos.
- We may visit the kids’ deceased grandparents, like we did one time, and probably have a Christmas day family dinner together somewhere or at home.
- I think that a family photo with our Christmas tree is a must. You would think that that is easy with a photographer for a husband, but there are details concerned like the normal lighting and the available backdrop that are not so conducive for a photoshoot, in his opinion. Well, he didn’t have to worry about these things one evening a couple of years back. We had a photoshoot at a photographer friend’s house with the theme Christmas Morning. The costumes were easy: pajamas! It was a full-blown photoshoot with hot lighting and loads of props. And then, we got to eat yummy food afterward! Below is one of the photos from that evening. I’m glad my baby seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight for a little while, before we had our family pictures taken. 🙂
Cayla: May I open this gift, mama?
- When it would be time for us to change our Christmas tree colors and decor, I will definitely let my kids have a say in the matter. I would love for them to pick really meaningful and even quirky ones. Although, I already have a color of choice in mind.
How about you? What are your family Christmas traditions? I would love to read about them in the comments!
Actually, I came from a non-Catholic religion that did not celebrate Christmas until Mommy and I got married, I was the one who used to arrange the Christmas decors. Medyo excited kasi wala nito nung bata kami. Now, the tree was assembled by Matt and me.
Allan recently posted..I Want a Foldable Bicycle
Decorating, especially with kids, is part of the Christmas fun.
I love the Christmas photo one…then you can print those and send them as postcards to family and friends. 🙂
Now this got me thinking of my own Christmas tradition :3
HEYLADYSPRING.COM recently posted..100 Happy Days
Wow, you have great traditions. My tradition is sprucing up the little Christmas in the middle of November. Unfortunately, no decors yet at my place at the moment. Boohoo!
maria recently posted..Banana Strawberry Tofu Smoothie
Oh, why not?
Nice traditions, Cym! We used to have family tradition of cooking arroz caldo for Christmas. There was a time we got tired of the usual Christmas feast where we slave on the kitchen and eat the food in less than an hour. Then, keep reheating leftovers for our meals the following days. So, arroz caldo was our stress-free food for Christmas. Then we got tired of arroz caldo. Haha! We are now back to no tradition. heheh
Kat recently posted..Lovely Palaui
Haha! If you bond in the kitchen, it’s okay to cook meals together, otherwise, you could order your food, so you could spend more time eating while chatting. 🙂
Our family traditions are putting up the Christmas tree and Christmas photo beside the tree every year. We started doing this five years ago. Last year, we started family reunion with exchange gift and this year I made advent calendar for my son.
Michi recently posted..DIY: Santa Card
We don’t really do Christmas traditions and don’t have any tree up but I’ve been practicing showing thanks with the kids.
Dominique Goh recently posted..Foam Art and Food Styling
Our is simple lang Sis. We normally put up simple Christmas decors at home. Christmas lights outdoors is a must. Then we love to prepare a special Christmas dinner, then prepare our gifts for our traditional ëxchange gift, then we hear mass or sometimes, if we can’t go out of the house, we just hear mass aired on TV. On Christmas Day (Dec 25) we usually go out to watch a movie and have dinner outside.
Krizza recently posted..Christmas Dinner
Yes, going to church would be great.
Thanks for great list! My Christmas family tradition is I let my kids pick their own ornaments every year, and we put our favorite Christmas music and put the tree up together as family. It’s always fun and I always look forward doing it.:)
Melgie recently posted..Crowdtap Sample and Share: Campbell’s Tasters
I love how you let your kids pick the ornaments. I want to do that, too! Or make their own, even.
I love how you inject in your kids’ young minds the importance of Christmas and the tradition attached to it (especially reinforcing an attitude of gratitude). These days, most clamor for material things that we forget the real meaning and essence of Christmas.
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I want also a family photo by the Christmas tree. We are planning to crochet more Christmas decors but because we had to finished a bulk order I don’t think crocheting Christmas decors is possible. Our Christmas tree and decors too are 5 years old now 🙂
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Crocheted Christmas decor sound wonderful!
Our family picture during Christmas eve and a family reunion. Exchange gifts after dinner, parlor games and dance number by the kids. God bless, Ceemee.
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There are even games pa, so cool! God bless, too, Jess!
I’ve always wanted to have a family tradition but my plans never seem to push through. Hopefully when my girls are older, we’ll be able to start traditions for special occasions.
Thanks for sharing your ideas. I’ll keep them in mind =)
Thank you for this list, Ceemee! I would love to do this and have our own traditions when I have my own family. 🙂 Maybe I can start new and simplified ones too with my immediate family now. God bless you!
It would be wonderful to start new family traditions now, ones that you could carry over to your future family. 🙂
Our family photo with our Christmas tree is one of my family’s simple Christmas traditions. My husband and I started it when we had our baby. This year, I’d like to start another one with my daughter, that is countdown to Christmas using Advent Calemdar. We’re already done with 2, and tonight will be our day 3. 🙂
You and your family have wonderful Christmas traditions. I’m sure your kids will remember them and maybe do them too when they have their own family as well. Thank you for sharing, Ceemee! Blessings! 🙂
Thank you, Joy! I have always wondered about the Advent Calendar. I have never done that with my family or my school before. What activities do you do for the Advent Calendar? Enjoy your Christmas countdown, and blessings to you, too!