Holiday Traditions

Hello, H. -
Sounds like you have some wonderful traditions already, but here are a couple that are or have been fun for my family:
We put up the Nativity Scene the first week in December. We start Mary and Joseph out as if they're traveling to the stable. Each night they move a bit closer, until on Christmas Eve they are in the stable but no baby yet. On Christmas morning, the children run down to see if baby Jesus has arrived - and of course He has. There is also a birthday cake for Baby Jesus, with a star candle on it. We sing Happy Birthday after dinner on Christmas. This gives us an opportunity to talk about the real meaning of Christmas.

Have a wonderful, blessed season.

C. D

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How about making or helping them each make an ornament for your tree each year. I do that with my kids & now we have lots of wonderful homemade ornaments on our tree.

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Your boys may be a little young for this, but my children go through their toys starting around Thanksgiving and we give away any gently used toys that they no longer play with to a charity in our town. This charity then redistributes the toys to children who aren't going to get anything for Christmas.

We also support a charity called Operation Christmas Child by Samaritan's Purse. This organization gives out shoeboxes filled with items that we collect through the year. Can fill one for $10 at the local dollar store and then they will take the shoeboxes to war-torn areas or natural disaster areas around the world to give to children who absolutely have nothing. We will spend a day and put our shoeboxes together, my kids will write letters to the recipients and then we pray over those boxes and then take them to a drop off center.

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I started this many years ago when my children where small and money was tight. I think of it as one of the most perfect Chirstmas Presents. A large cardboard box wrapped in cheap Christmas paper and filled with a dozen or so of helium balloons. The big box under the tree Christmas morning makes little eyes get hugh. The ripping off of the paper is a hoot. When the balloons pop out is wonderful. The children love the balloons for as long as they last, but the big cardboard box is the real hit. Stand back and watch as over the next couple of weeks the box becomes the center of many hours of play.

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It is a German tradition to hang a pickle on the Christmas tree and the child who finds it first gets an extra (small) gift. I love this one and found a ceramic pickle we place on our tree.

Also, we always have the same breakfast on Christmas morning. A coffee cake. This tradition started b/c a neighbor of my husband's would make one as a gift and bring it over on X-mas eve. We started making our own to keep it going.

This is more for you than the kids, but when we travel, I ALWAYS bring home an ornament (who needs more T-shirts and gawdy knick-nacks anyway??) I LOVE decoratng the tree because we get to relive all those wonderful memories!!!

I love the other ideas, too!!

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I got this idea from my aunt & we started it last year: I have 2 girls (2 & 4) and they each get 3 presents from Santa on Christmas morning because "that's how many presents baby Jesus got when he was born!" It helps to keep the Christmas "gimme's" under control and again reiterates what Christmas is truly about. He also brings them a toy or two to share with each other (last year it was a mini trampoline & princess table & chair set). We read the Christmas story (in Luke) + "T'was the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Sounds like you have some great traditions already. Have a joyous holiday season!

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H.,

How about celebrating St. Nicholas Day, Dec 6. We get those gold foil wrapped chocolates and put them in the kids' shoes (he left gold in three poor girls' shoes so they could pay a dowry and get married...among other wonderful things...) And I also know some families that celebrate Epiphany (the arrival of the Wise Men, Jan. 6) with little gifts. Both these spread out the season and add some depth to the holiday.

H.

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Great ideas! I can't wait to hear what else everyone has.

One thing we always did growing up is on Christmas Eve we would drive around and look at all the lights. Then we would go to Midnight Mass. Several Catholic Churches do this and it is very beautiful. You don't have to be Catholic to attend, just stay seated when they recieve communion. :)

Another thing I did once and always want to do again, is to make a little manger. Each time you do something 'good for goodness sake' put a piece of straw in the manger preparing for Jesus' birth. You can make it out of an empty food container and use yarn for the straw. It is a great way to remind us of what CHRISTmas is all about.

Have a blessed one everybody!
A.

OH, one more thing! How great would it be to get a knock on the door and hear carolors standing outside!! I just love that. We used to do it with our clubs growing up and visit the nursing homes. (I know your kids are younger, but something for later once Santa isn't in the picture.)

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For the past several years at Thanksgiving, I will round up 24 Christmas books, DVDs, old movies and anything christmas-y and wrap them up individually. Each night starting on Dec. 1, the children get to pick out one and unwrap it and that's our family time for the night. So, if they open up a book, we all will read it together, or watch a movie or whatever. It has been really fun and the kids just can't get enough of it.

We last year also got the Elf on the Shelf as one of the gifts. It came with a book telling the story that is really sweet and an elf. Every night the elf moves to a different spot and the kids got a kick out of where could they find Buddy, the elf. I can't wait until Buddy makes his debut this year! I think my husband and I had more fun than the kids sometimes!

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Oh I love reading all of the responses! My daughter is 1 1/2 and I'm always in search of ways to make this a special season for her.

One thing we're going to do this year is decorate cookies with our playgroup. I'll make, and probably frost, the cookies ahead of time and buy a bunch of sprinkles for them to put on their cookies. Should be fun (and messy!) with 4 little ones around. The moms also do a cookie exchange and we'll do them the same day this year.

We also make a holiday ornament for her grandparents. Last year being our first was fun! I bought plain silver balls and some paint at the craft store and let her have at it. Once they were dry I painted her name and year on them. This year we'll do something different but still an ornament.

My in-laws used to have a fish tank and every Christmas Eve Santa would bring a fish. I guess the boys loved running to the tank to see if they could find the new fish.

They also used to do the pjs think but instead of just being new pjs they made a really big deal about it. My father-in-law would bathe the boys and make it a pretty long bath. In the meantime my mother-in-law would run around and change the boys sheets (they got new sheets too) and lay their new pajamas on their beds with a new stuffed animal. Then she'd run and throw the old sheets in the washer while the boys were still in the tub. Once she was all ready she'd walk by the door with a jingle bell and father-in-law would play it up like an elf walking by. The boys got all excited and would get out of the bath, dried off and run to their rooms to find that the elf had brought them pjs, new sheets and a new stuffed animal.

Making wrapping paper is always fun too! Either use brown paper bags or call around to different printing companies and see if they have any paper rolls they won't use. Set the kids up with some paint, sponges and let them have at it! Then wrap family and friends presents in their paper.

Have fun!

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Good Morning H.,
I came from a family of 9.
We had a great time when the Holiday came around.
Mom would put decoration up every were in the house.
Windows always seem to have a holiday greeting.
Our house was always full of a happy spirit.
All of us children would find things around the house
to wrap in news paper to give to Mom and and Dad.
Dad would always ask if something was missing, were it was.
We would never tell. Mom knew what we was up though and never complain because the house got cleaned and empty in a way. ha ha
But when Christmas came around Dad was always surprise and always say...
That is what I always wanted.
We all would laugh.
News paper was always fun to use to wrap up gifts of special love.
Plus they would get some history also, ha..
Mom always play christmas music on the old turn table in those days.
We sing along or dance to them song that we would hear.
That was many years ago.
My Dad is gone. But Mom gets around and enjoys life with all of Today.
Enjoy your loving family. have good time.
And don't let the world's stress effect it.
Have a good dinner and talk about all the good times you are having together.
Tell each other you love them...

Have a good day TODAY

Vicki W.

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We always took our kids to their paternal grandparents' house for Christmas eve and Christmas. (We lived beside my parents who weren't much about celebrating, per se, although they were VERY involved with our kids all year long).

Anyway, try to have the same number of gifts for each kid (regardless of the cost. My husband and his 2 siblings were all near the same age, so their parents tried to make the dollar amount equal, but that's just not practical with different ages of kids, IMHO).

I heard one Christian family speaker say that they gave their kids 3 gifts each -- one they want, one they need, and one to read. Sounds reasonable! (I DO know that the one year that our [4] kids got the least amount of presents they were the happiest. Strange, but true).

Anyway, hand out one gift at a time from the youngest to the oldest -- including adults -- and watch each one open theirs before handing out another. This way the fun lasts longer and everyone gets to share each other's joy. Take lots of pictures or video-record it so you can all enjoy it again later!

Here's a link to a neat recipe to make your own ornaments (or jewelry, etc): http://www.rbcorner.com/crafts/ornaments.shtml I had a friend who made these, and they were neat-looking. She colored them with food colors before baking and molded them with her hands (like play-doh) instead of cutting them out. And don't forget to make a hole for the hanger! Have fun!

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We would make ornaments. When the kids were young we took old Christmas cards or left over wrapping paper and cut it out to fit into plastic lids from containers or drinking cups. Tie ribbon to hang it. We usually put construction paper one the other side. Sometimes if we had a wrapping paper that was really cute we would make ornaments for other people, grandparents, aunts and uncles or friends. Just remember to have fun and gear it towards their ages.

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I got this idea from the family of a college friend...

Each year we buy each child an ornament and put their name on it or have it engraved with their name and the year. They go on the tree every year after that. Then when each child moves on their own, they have a full set of ornaments to take with them. We've been doing matching silver and pewter pieces every year.

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what about going to visit a local nursing home. the elders a lot of times don't get very many visitors and the holidays can be pretty lonely. old folks love little kids. maybe you could tech you boys a few simple carols to sing or hand out some little inexpensive gifts...like home made cookies or checks mix.

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There are so many things that kids love to do: make ginger bread houses, make cut-out cookies or candy (and give to neighbors), help decorate the tree, make paper snowflakes, enjoy hot chocolate on cold evenings, listen to/sing Christmas music, read Christmas stories, drive around and look at Christmas lights/displays, go to public buildings that are all decked out with Christmas trees, go to the mall and see all the decorations. After the fact, it's a good idea to establish the habit of writing thank you notes to gift givers (grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc).

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We really enjoy making sock snowmen. It's very simple. All you do is fill up a child size sock with rice, close it up with a rubber band. Then tie a Christmasy ribbon or something that looks scarflike a little below the rubber band to make the neck. Fold the top of the sock down over the rubber band to make a stocking cap. Then you hot glue on some google eyes and little fuzzy colorful craft balls (that you can get in craft areas of stores)on top of the hat. Draw dots for the mouth and buttons down the front with a black marker. You can use brown pipe cleaners for stick looking arms.For the nose you can use one of the fuzz balls or a short piece of orange pipe cleaner for a carrot look. For a baby snowgirl you can use a ruffley sock. Be creative. This craft is well worth every penny spent on supplies. Fun craft for Christmas parties too. Besides this we always like to decorate cookie cutter sugar cookies and make buckeyes. Yum! Hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving and a very merry CHRISTmas!

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I love the other suggestions! We, too would let our boys go through their own toys and pick out some in good shape to donate. We would also let them pick out a new ornament every year and write their name on it in indelible ink. One of my favourite things as both a child and as a mom was our Christmas Eve service at our church. It was always "short, sweet and to the point", but we always light candles and sing Silent Night at the end. We would also bake cookies - some to give and some to keep. I remember my sister had a neat tradition with her two sons - she would put an envelope in the branches of the tree for each of the kids, and inside would be a "treasure hunt" - there would be a small gift hidden somewhere in the house they would have to find. Her kids loved it! I always wanted to give it a try but I always forgot! The one thing to remember is to keep things simple enough to still be enjoyable. You don't want to start stressing yourself out at the holidays, then nobody will be having fun!

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Our traditions: ring the bell for the Salvation Army (or be sure to let them drop a coin when you pass a kettle), adopt a Salvation Army angel or whole family, homemade cookies and decorating them, gifts from Santa are wrapped in Santa paper (pictures of santa on them) without bows, don't leave home on Christmas day. Have fun!!!

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Hi!

My parents started a tradition and I have carried that over with my girls. Every year, we either buy a special ornament or my girls make one in school. It's something they love doing & it also brings back special memories when we decorate the tree. Like you, we also do the pj's on Christmas Eve. Hope this helps!

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We, like you, are starting to form our own special holiday traditions with our children, especially now with family so far away (we recently relocated from FL). Our kids are also about the same age (my daughter is 3 1/2, my son will be 1 a week before Christmas).

Last year we would take almost nightly drives around the different neighborhoods to view all the lights. My daughter absolutely loved this. Many of the neighborhoods would work together on the lights. One set all their displays to music, while another handed out candy canes along the route. It was a lot of fun for her and easy on me being 9 months pregnant at the time.

Something I always loved as a kid and will start this year with my daughter is baking cookies. I remember starting to bake holiday cookies early December with my grandma and we would bake a ton of different cookies all month long and give them away as gifts to family and friends.

We also do the traditional go see Santa and she helps us decorate the tree. We are also going to do an advent calendar once we find one we like. I love the idea of new pjs for everyone.

Each year since being married, I have cooked a big ham dinner and my in-laws come over for Christmas dinner (they are staying the week with us this year). My daughter got to help with little things with dinner last year (mashing the potatoes with Daddy's help) and we will let her help more this year.

Our son is a little young to help with anything this year, so our main focus with him this year is just keeping him out of trouble since trouble always seems to find him (ah, the fun of boys)!

I know as each year goes by, we will find more family traditions to cherish with our children. Good luck on making your own traditions! And if you hear of any really great ideas, I would love to know.

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I have a tradition that I love and I think my kids will get a kick out of when they are adults. Every year we go see Santa. I always get the pictures no matter who's smiling, crying, etc. I put the pic in a frame ornament, write the year on it and hang it on the tree. Always fun every year to see the changes when decorating.

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What a great thread!

My family growing up was small, so my parents worked to help our holiday feel full of friends and activities. Some of our traditions:

- Christmas Eve we would attend Church, then have a party at my parents place with friends. They continued having that party until the retired/relocated a few years ago.
- First thing Christmas morning we open stockings, have breakfast, then open gifts. We would each take turns opening gifts.
- My grandfather use to leave a note on the tree that my brother and I would find after gifts were opened. It was a scavenger hunt to reveal a special gift. The scavenger hunt got more challenging as we got older. It was my sons turn last year for the hunt. We used pictures of places in the house, as he wasn't reading yet.
- We were also given an ornament each year.

Love the ideas!

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Hi My name is R. and I have 3 boys age's 8yrs, 4yrs, and 1yr and on christmas eve we put the raindeer mix in the yard to help the raindeer and santa find the house my kids love this and its great fun The mis is glitter, oatmeal mixed together the glitter shines the way and the oatmeal for the raindeer to smell hope your kids love it as much as mine....

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Christmas Child shoeboxes are a fantastic way to teach the boys about other people's needs during the holidays. You fill a shoebox with small gifts (a toy, colors, paper, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, wash cloths, socks, etc) for a child and drop the box off at one of the drop-off locations. Our church is a drop-off this year; West End Community Church on White Bridge Road. I think Life Way Christian bookstores are also drop-offs. Go to samaritanspurse.org and look under operation christmas child for more info. My boys really get into helping.

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One tradition I have with my children is each year we purchase an ornament that the child picks out. He hangs them on the tree any where he wants them on the tree. I have a card in each box and we talk about the ornaments and that Christmas. They will go with him to his first home to decorate his tree.

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A parent from one of my classes shared this idea with me this week:

Wrap 24 books in wrapping paper. They can be old family favorites, new books or a mix of the two. Each night, let one of the boys pick a book and read it together after dinner or before bedtime. It is an interactive way to count down to Christmas and gets the family reading together during a very busy time of the year.

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Hi H.,

Do you know of a place (your church, preschool, etc) that has a giving tree? We always made a big deal about that, picking names off of a giving tree, choosing the gifts together and wrapping them up. My kids really liked that.

You can also take your kids to a nursing home and sing Christmas carols, if you can carry a tune. It would be good for the kids to get used to standing in front of people singing. Make sure to ask before you show up - just make it really informal, walking around to the common rooms to sing, or singing while the old folks eat.

Good luck!
D.

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Sorry I'm responding so late but I do have a fun tradition that you might like. While your 1 year old is still a bit young for this tradition he will be ready next year to play this game. We bought an ornament - something small and simple that isn't breakable. One person gets to hide the ornament on the tree. The hider does this whenever they want to but we don't usually do it before December 15th. The hider hides the ornament and the object of the game is to try to find the ornament the first person to find the ornament gets an extra gift to open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (whichever you prefer). The person who wins has to be the hider next year and doesn't get to play for the gift that way everyone gets a turn. This comes from a Dutch or German (I can't remember) tradtions where they hid pickles on their trees and whoever found the pickle would win the extra gift. They sale pickle ornaments so you might want that to be the special ornament that you hide, but it doesn't have to be. It's just fun to find the pickle instead of finding the ornament. It's something the entire family can enjoy. Since you would be starting it this year you wouldn't get to win the extra gift. Also, I know you have 2 young ones but if you set rules and say - we're going to take a few minutes every evening to see if we can find it and help them you shouldn't have a lot of trouble with them messing with the tree. You could make a production of it and tell them it's like hide and seek. The 3 year old will love it and so will your husband. It lets the adults be like kids too. Hope this helps!

Hi H.
Actually, your tradition sounds like a great one! I may use your ideas! My LO is 1 1/2 years so we don't exactly have any established traditions yet. Maybe this year we'll start one or two.
PJ

Sounds like you have lots of ideas. My family does the elf on the shelf. Its an elf that magically appears Thanksgiving and every night he reports to santa. Each morning he shows up in a new place. Rules are you can't touch him and he always has his eye on you so he can report kids behavior to santa. My daughter loves waking up each morning to find the elf. It helps to getting her up for school. The elf leaves christmas eve to spend the rest of the year with santa. He reappears next Thanksgiving. If she touches the elf he looses his magic. Its slot of fun and something she will pass on for years. Oh and the child must name the elf for the magic to begin.

Have a wonderful holiday! Merry christmas!

Hi. We always had a Happy Birthday Jesus party on Christmas night. It helped extend the day past gift opening and draw us back to the real reason of the day when the gift part was over. we invited friends to join us. some people came every year, others when it fit their schedule. the youngest child got to blow out the candle on the cake. Other than the cake and drinks that is about it. There were always plenty of cookies and candy left over from earlier celebrations and people would also bring the goodies they wanted to get rid of. Have a BLESSED holiday. L.