My kids are only little once.
That, and I love tradition. And I feel like they thrive off of it too.
We’ve got so many fun things we do this time of year. I know that it won’t be like this forever and I just want to soak it all in while I can. So bear with me while I share our Christmas with over-sharing of images, iPhone pics, and photos that wouldn’t be considered technically ‘perfect’ but are just as treasured. Christmas, for us, begins the minute Thanksgiving ends.
That’s when I shift gears and begin focusing on the spirit of the Holiday season. And I get my Christmas decorating on…
We count down the days with our little snowball clad snowman….
We love going to a nearby neighborhood church that has a light show set to music. Usually, we keep to ourselves in our car while we watch the decorated church lights blink to the timing of the music. This year, it was only about 50 degrees outside so we did our light-watching tailgate style. 🙂
Green grasses and short-sleeved shirts were what my boys found themselves playing in on this particular December.
Yet, inside our house, it was decorated like we were in a Winter Wonderland. Roman made Christmas Decorations on a regular basis and we plastered them all over all walls and our doors. And, of course, the smiling faces from those who send holiday cards were also treasured decor.
Every year we visit Santa. And every year we get a full family photo with the big guy. This is a tradition that began from our very first Christmas together as a married couple. We’re now 12 years into Santa photos!
Every year we buy an ornament. Last year was the first time we celebrated Advent in a big way, so this Hallmark ornament was perfect. It has now become one of the bigger ways we count down to Jesus’ birth.
We also make a gingerbread house. It secretly stresses me out to do this. I start out decorating and hoping for perfection. Then I realize that the messy application of candies that a 2 and 4-year-old contribute actually make the gingerbread house beyond perfect.
And, quite possibly my favorite tradition we’ve ever done is celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day one whole day early. I just love doing this. And our Christmas Eve traditions are unlike any other. We have so many things we like to do the day before we celebrate our Christmas, that it’s actually good to give ourselves a bonus day in case we need it. 🙂
This year our Christmas Eve Eve began by coming our hair, getting dressed, and getting our feast foods ready. We enjoy our feast picnic-style on a blanket next to the Christmas tree. That is, after we shoo the dog off first.
Then we all get to unwrap our Christmas pajamas that were placed under the tree just a few days before.
This year, we put the star on our tree on Christmas Eve {EVE}. And we hung our 2012 ornaments. (Purchased the day we went to visit Santa – also part of the tradition.) This year’s ornaments were a ‘Pop-pop’ and Curious George. The kids both love these items and that’s why they became our pick for 2012 . The “Pop-pop’ is frequently used to pretend to help daddy vacuum the house and the Curious George is their favorite morning TV program.
Cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer food for Rudolph and his buddies are also part of the Christmas Eve fun.
A family game is something we’ve tried for each year. This year it’s become most fun with the knock-off version of “Guess Who”. We teamed up Daddy and Milo vs. Mommy and Roman. Christopher would whisper into Milo’s ear the question he should ask to find out our character. It was pretty hilarious seeing him ask a question either in jumbled form or in a compete whisper…. you know, ’cause that’s how he heard the question in the first place when Daddy said it.
And at the end of the night, a surprise gift of pillow people made the evening complete.
Once the kids are in bed, we get to work stacking up gifts and decorating the room. I hang homemade red-snowflakes from the ceiling and we block the view of the room with sheets.
Christopher likes to label the kids’ gifts with a different nickname or playful name.
Ta-Da! This is the part where we just can’t wait for the kids to see. But we’ve got to eat first….
After Christmas breakfast, the kids get to {finally} see what’s behind the sheets. Their reaction this year was priceless. Milo looked up at the hanging snowflakes and Roman looked down at the pile of presents, both in awe.
As parents, our favorite gifts are the sentimental ones.
My favorite gift from the kids: a wooden back scratcher and a framed pencil drawing.
We had a good number of gifts for the kids but we never would’ve predicted that a $6 bag of plastic beans would be one of the most prized toys. He didn’t really even want to open any of his other gifts after getting these.
Then, we decided to take a pause on the gift opening for the day because our little guys still take naps. And naps just suck the whole afternoon away. So, after naps, we went to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, came home and watched The Year Without A Santa Claus, and after a snack we headed to bed to rest up for Christmas Day Round 2.
Our second day of Christmas was just as fun as the first. Reggie got a doggie-gift, the kids enjoyed even more pajama fun, and Roman got surprised with the toy he’s been wanting all year… a remote control helicopter.
The rest of our lazy, relaxing day was spent playing with our toys, napping, and enjoying each other.
It could not have been more perfect. I absolutely treasure this time.
Like I said, I know that my kids will grow up fast. For us, it’s not just about the gifts or what we can give them. It’s about our time. It’s about our memories made. It’s about the traditions that will leave my kids feeling warm and fuzzy when they think back about their childhood Christmas. We might someday be “silly mom and dad” because of all the things we like to do on this holiday, but maybe we’ll also instill in our children a sense of family, a sense of tradition, and a goal for what’s important on the day we remember Christ’s birth.
That’s bigger than any gift I could ever buy.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
Beautifully captured Donna! Gorgeous family indeed!
Gorgeous! Just gorgeous!
Adore everything about this session! Such a gorgeous wee one and family. Wonderful job Donna!
Donna, you did one amazing job with these photos! They are beautiful and capture the Bradleys perfectly!