Creating Christmas Traditions with Your Kids

Creating new Christmas traditions helps to set the tone for your own unique celebration.  It gives you something to anticipate, something special that perhaps not everyone does.  It could be a special Christmas morning breakfast, a special Christmas movie viewing, or creating a special dessert.  My sisters and I set aside a Saturday in December to make Mama's Christmas Fudge.  Perhaps it is going caroling at the nursing home or volunteering for the toy drive.  Whatever you decide to make your family traditions, put a lot of thought and care into carrying it out.  Your family is priceless.  Even if it is just you, there are ways you can share the holiday love with someone around you.  A holiday is a "holy day."  It is special.  Typically it is a break from the ordinary work week, but even if you find yourself having to work, taking special treats or dressing in festive attire can help you not to feel left out.  Most importantly, Christmas commemorates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  If you only do one thing this Christmas, tell someone else the joyous news of why He came.

Perhaps one of my very favorite traditions was passed to me by my mother.  Every year in the month of December, she would set aside a day or two to make homemade goodies.  She had a favorite candy recipe book.  We would get it out, get out all the pans, pots, spoons, ingredients and have candy making day.  Here's her recipe for Christmas peanut butter fudge:  http://cgreen7090.hubpages.com/hub/Southern-Christmas-Candy

The old adage, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" is typically reserved for brides.  However, this adage came to mind when thinking of ways to make your Christmas tradition truly unique.  For years, my mother collected all our homemade school ornaments--you know, the ones with our picture plastered on them, the ones we painted and glittered and sequined.  I still have some of those precious treasures.  Now my son is adding to them with his own.  I love the ones that have the year painted on them or etched into them.  

Also, every year I make it a habit to buy at least one new ornament.  This could be a Hallmark crystal snowflake, a homemade crochet ornament, or an angel ornament.  One year, the entire tree was done all in angels I had collected through the years.

Typically I don't borrow ornaments, but I have had to borrow an extension cord for lights.  I've borrowed favorite recipes, favorite cake platters, or favorite Christmas albums.  What I also have been known to borrow is old photographs to scan and make into presents.

Blue.  Not the traditional green, red, and silver you think of at Christmas.  Elvis fans fond of "Blue Christmas" could start a Blue Christmas tradition.  Blue lights, blue candles, blue and silver gift wrap.  

http://little-inspirations.blogspot.com/2010/12/santas-key.html (pictures)

http://www.theideadoor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=552:santas-key-poems&catid=49:christmas&Itemid=861 (poems to add)
When my son was three and in preschool he brought home a lovely felt pouch.  Inside was a golden skeleton key with instructions to place the key outside under the mat or hung from the door knob, or any place special--just for Santa.  Then we would take the oats and glitter mix that came in the zip lock bag with the key and spread it on the lawn for the reindeer to eat.  In the morning, my son would find the key under the tree, sometimes with a note thanking him for the reindeer food.  This is really a cute tradition for the little ones.

I can think of no better way to commemorate the Christmas holiday than to have a quiet time of reading the Christmas story aloud from the Bible.  We use the Luke 2 account.   One of my most precious and fondest memories is of my mother reading it to my son when he was 13 months old.  That was her last Christmas on this earth.  She died with breast cancer in 2001.