‘Tis the season for enjoying special traditions with our families! Here are five of ours. 🙂
Advent Calendars
I wrote about this tradition several years ago on my first blog:
I think anticipation is one of the things that makes Christmas my favorite time of year, and my Advent calendar has been a special part of that anticipation each year since I was a little girl. My mom had a good friend who was from Germany- we called her Aunt Annelise – and she made each of my sisters and I Advent calendars – drawers to be filled with treats (candy, money, small ornaments) for each day of December through Christmas Eve. While she lived nearby, she would stuff them each Christmas with lots of wonderful German and European goodies we’d never normally have, and even after she moved back to Germany she sent us goodies by mail for a few years. Later Mom or one of my sisters took over stuffing the drawers, and now I get hubby to fill mine. (He has one too, that my sister made him. 🙂 ) We open them after breakfast, and I love to open mine by the Christmas tree. I open each previous drawer, then the current drawer, and then close them in descending order (I know, I’m weird 🙂 ).
This is probably my kids favorite tradition, and they are so excited to open each day’s drawer! This year, I ordered the matchboxes to make one for little R, but sadly they were very poorly made and many were damaged in transit. So hubby found him a calendar at the store, and I will have to get some better quality matchboxes for next year.
Photo Books
This is the fifth year I have ordered photo albums from Shutterfly. It takes me pretty much a whole day to pick out the photos I want, upload and arrange them in pages, but the joy it brings to my mom makes it totally worth it! I also order one for hubby’s mom, my grandmother, and, of course, one for us. I try to order in early December so I can take advantage of the deals they offer then, and get the albums in time for Christmas. It’s the only form of scrapbooking I’ve done since Mr. E was a baby, and it’s a great way to treasure the memories we are making.
Baking Cookies
This is usually the only time of year we do iced cookies, because frankly, it’s a lot of work! But it’s also a lot of fun for the kids, and something they can do to give to others (neighbors, in this case). I did have a bit of a brainwave this year, and made makeshift trays for the kids to decorate on by folding up the sides of a piece of aluminum foil. It helped to contain the mess at least somewhat, and worked better than the plates we’d used in previous years.
Some years it’s just sugar cookies and pretzel treats, and some years I’ve made mini Christmas cakes (which I love, but the kids not so much). I found a new one to add to the repertoire this year: candy cane Rice Krispie squares. They were enjoyed at art class yesterday and are easy to make (if a bit messy).
Plum Pudding
My mom’s mother, who came from England when she was three, made plum – or Christmas – pudding every year, and would have some for us when we visited during the Christmas holidays. I don’t think I liked it much as a girl, but learned to appreciate it as I got older. She has since passed away, so when saw Auntie Leila’s tutorial several years ago, I decided to revive the tradition in her memory. I try to make it at least a couple of weeks before Christmas, as it gets better with age. 😉 The kids aren’t too fond of it yet, but I’m hoping they will learn to love it, just as I did.
Christmas Lights
We love going to the zoo each year to see the lights display – it seems to get better each year. But we’ve also discovered the simple pleasure of just taking an evening walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the variety of displays people have put up. It’s a lovely way to enjoy the season and get a bit of fresh air and exercise. 🙂
Mom is looking forward to the photo album! And we all are looking forward to the plum pudding.