I know this is a bit early, but it is nearly impossible to get prepared for Thanksgiving without feeling a twinge of excitement for the holiday season to follow. As a kid, I remember Christmas boxes coming down from storage as soon as we had washed our last Thanksgiving dish. At that point familiar characters would appear to usher in the new holiday.
We had a Christmas mouse made entirely of cinnamon with a flocked Santa hat. This little mouse would inevitably end up on the dinner table and instantly a game of grammar hot-potato would ensue. My sister and I would spend the entire meal trying to catch one another's incorrectly used verbs and nouns. The mouse would "perch" in front of your plate until you were able to catch someone else.
I also remember my nativity scene. This was a gift I received when I was 8 years-old. Christmas wasn't official until I'd carefully unwrapped each figurine and set up my nativity scene on the mantle. Being in charge of the nativity scene gave me a feeling of importance. It felt very grown-up and significant to be in charge of such an important part of our holiday traditions.
Do any of you moms have any holiday characters or traditions that you remember from childhood or enjoy today that officially start off the season?
The morning after Thanksgiving, we wake up to Christmas music, cinnamon buns and hot chocolate. Then the decorating begins! The entire day is dedicated to getting the house ready for Christmas. We did this growing up and we have continued it with our own little family. Dinner is something hearty, but not turkey, followed by Christmas movies.
Oh, L., please know that today you made my day -- someone on the other side of the country from you got a huge smile from your cinnamon mouse and the grammar game! Lovely!
Our favorite tradition really began since my daughter was about three (only seven years ago!). She is a dancer and is about to be in her sixth "Nutcracker" ballet. We get her a new nutcracker each Christmas in advance of Christmas, and now the whole troop of Nutty Soldiers guard the living room from Thanksgiving onward. There are more than seven, though, since I find new ones or old ones to add, and we have Nutty ornaments now too. I can't wait to assemble the troops next week and march them over the floor, the piano top, the bookcase....
My husband and I adopted a tradition when we started dating and that was to attend or communities Chritmas Tree lighting the night after Thanksgiving. They have a huge parade where Santa comes in on a fire truck and Christmas carols are sung. Street performers and local stores are open just so you can peek in etc. That is our newest tradition (going on 6 years). We also make sure we put up our own ornaments. I have two of them from when I was 1.5 and 2 years old....sure it looks like my reindeer's eye is a little droopy, but it is alost as old as I am and I will always treasure it!
I am so so excited this year for the holidays so I have been thinkging about Christmas for a while now!! We are still working on traditions but in recent years we get really involved with our church and it really brings the family together for Christmas and appreciating why we celebrate. I really want a nativity scene and this is the first year we got an advent calendar...of course we make the red and green chains out of paper for the kids to count down, and we put lights all over the house becasue the glow is so pretty, we have already made cookies to kick off the season!!
One of my favorite Christmas memories was checking this crocheted mailbox ornament for "mail" my sister and I made. I made a little cat magazine before I could even write with pictures and sqwiggles for the words. We loved finding it every year and laughing at it. We had singing ornaments from McDonalds we'd play with forever. We also made ornaments with dough that our mom would bake and we'd paint. My dad would pick out the biggest tree and my mom would complain about it. My mom had some little elves that went out on the mantel every year and still do at her home.
We would always get back from church and I'd crank up the heater so hot and get away with it. Christmas was a wonderful time.
I'm a grandmother now, so the traditions I remember from my childhood are from long ago. Our family did not decorate for Christmas or put up a tree until Christmas Eve. All four of us kids had to nap in the afternoon to be able to stay up for midnight church service. During that nap, my mother and grandmother would drag the tree in, set it up, and decorate the tree and the entire house. My (single) mom would decorate the top of the long bookcase with driftwood, moss, and little outdoor treasures and display her funny collection of Christmas elves, making it look like a little magical woodland. When we awoke, we dressed for church and sat down for Christmas Eve dinner. Preparations continued while we kids cleared the table and did dishes, then we were allowed to go into the family room to see the magic that had happened. We kept all the Christmas decorations up until Jan 6 (King's Day). The things that bring back my childhood memories are: Christmas elves, tangerines and nuts (from our stockings), yellow or white lights on the tree and Christmas garlands in the window. Oh, and we were greeted with Christmas music (the first of the season) VERY LOUDLY on the day after Thanksgiving. THAT officially started our holidays.
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! Even though we never had much money when I was growing up Christmas has always been a very special time for me. I always go as all out as I can decorating my home-inside and out. I can't afford nor do I have the space to store all the decorative items I wish I could have I do the best I can with what we've got.
Anyhow, when the kids were little we ALWAYS made cut out sugar cookies and decorated them. In recent years school activity schedules have stolen that time from us but we are trying to make new traditions.
For the last 6 or so years we've had the tradition of new PJ's on Christmas Eve. Even though all of the kids know that they are opening PJ's (so we look as shiny and fresh as possible on Christmas morning :-) whenever I mention moving on to something different they all holler at me and tell me "NO!!!! We like getting our pj's" so the tradition continues. I love that they love this.
My decorations start going up the day after Thanksgiving. I've made a compromise with my DH. I won't make him haul out the boxes and boxes and more boxes of Christmas decor on Thanksgiving if he takes charge of after dinner cleanup.
My main nativity scene is always the first thing that gets set up....then I work on all the other stuff. Off the shelves go the everyday decor and up go the Christmas figurines and whatnot. I decorate the kitchen, bathroom, dining room and living room. Each of the kids have gotten a new ornament or two every year since they were babies so they all have a nice collection of them. My oldest DD has moved out so we will be digging her ornaments out and passing them on to her :-) :-(
We decorate our tree with white lights because they just look the prettiest with all of our sparkly ornaments but we use colored lights everywhere else. The very final touch on decorations is the angel. Angel is quite old. Daddy and I bought her when I was only about 8 or 9 years old....way back in the 70's. He would lift me up so I could put her on top of the tree. Her lights no longer work and new bulbs are too powerful for her so she just silently keeps watch over the tree in all her old glory. She's only about 8" tall and her dress has gotten some stains over the years but she will have the crowning position on our tree until she just can't keep it together anymore. Daddy died when I was only 11 so Angel is close to my heart (oh geeze, go away tears!)
Oh one last tradition we have developed is the Christmas morning wake up. As the kids have gotten older big sis has gotten them up at "0 dark thirty" to raid their stockings. The rule is Mom and dad don't show their faces til the light hits the bedroom window (usually around 7-ish) and the coffee is done brewing. Then we all gather together to open presents. And unless someone else is hosting dinner we don't do anything over the top for Christmas dinner. We cook something different than standard everyday fare but it isn't complicated. We would rather spend the day just enjoying each other and our new goodies because reality hits soon enough.
I have already decided that someday when i have grandkids there will be a "make cookies with grandma" weekend :-) No ifs, ands or buts about it!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
