Matt and I feel that it is very important to establish special traditions for our family. There's something about tradition that helps hold a family together. Because we travel so much during the Christmas season and are almost never home on Christmas day, our Christmas traditions invlove things other than the usual Christmas morning routine.
Tradition # 1 involves the decorating of the tree. Here's how we do it!
Step #1: Bake Cookies.
This should be done the morning before the designated tree decorating night. Any type of cookie will do, as long as you bake it yourself. We tried store-bought cookies one year, and even though they were really fancy little cookies from World Market, it just wasn't the same.
Lydia was a big help with all the baking.
Nathan wasn't a lot of help, unless eating the dough counts as helping!
It was all fun for Lily, even though she didn't get to eat any of the cookies.Step # 2: Put up the tree.
Thanks to my parents, we have an absolutely massive Christmas tree. It must weigh a hundred pounds. Getting it out of the attic and setting it up is Matt's responsibility, but the kids get to help fluff up the branches.
Step # 3: Put on the lights.
When I was a child, this step took a LONG time. We had to stretch out all the lights, plug them int, then spend several hours pulling bulbs out and replacing them in order to get the whole strand lit and blinking at the same time. It was fun. Really. I would love to have some of those old lights, just for the memories. But, no--our fancy new tree also happens to be pre-lit, so we actually get to skip step 3. It's been done for us.
Step #4: Hang the ornaments.
When Matt and I got our first tree after getting married, I decided to decorate the entire tree in red and gold. A theme tree, if you will. We bought red and gold ornaments and made a fancy red and gold bow for the top of the tree. Then our good friend Regis decided that since we had just gotten married, we probably didn't have any ornaments. Since he owned a florist's shop, he had plenty of ornaments, so he gave us several. They didn't match my red and gold decorations, but I hung them on the tree anyway. Then our friend Ann decided that since we had just gotten married, we probably didn't have any ornaments. She gave us a bag full of them, and once again, they did not match my decorations. I hung them on the tree anyway, then stood back and looked at our tree. "I guess it's not a 'theme' tree after all," Matt said.
"Of course it is!" I replied. "The theme is love. All of these ornaments were given to us by people who love us, and we'll remember that every time we decorate our tree!"
Step # 3: Put on the lights.
When I was a child, this step took a LONG time. We had to stretch out all the lights, plug them int, then spend several hours pulling bulbs out and replacing them in order to get the whole strand lit and blinking at the same time. It was fun. Really. I would love to have some of those old lights, just for the memories. But, no--our fancy new tree also happens to be pre-lit, so we actually get to skip step 3. It's been done for us.
Step #4: Hang the ornaments.
When Matt and I got our first tree after getting married, I decided to decorate the entire tree in red and gold. A theme tree, if you will. We bought red and gold ornaments and made a fancy red and gold bow for the top of the tree. Then our good friend Regis decided that since we had just gotten married, we probably didn't have any ornaments. Since he owned a florist's shop, he had plenty of ornaments, so he gave us several. They didn't match my red and gold decorations, but I hung them on the tree anyway. Then our friend Ann decided that since we had just gotten married, we probably didn't have any ornaments. She gave us a bag full of them, and once again, they did not match my decorations. I hung them on the tree anyway, then stood back and looked at our tree. "I guess it's not a 'theme' tree after all," Matt said.
"Of course it is!" I replied. "The theme is love. All of these ornaments were given to us by people who love us, and we'll remember that every time we decorate our tree!"
Since our first Christmas, we've accumulated a lot more ornaments. Friends, family, church members, Sunday School parties, and endless games of "Dirty Santa" have resulted in almost more ornaments that we can fit on the tree. In addition, Lydia and Nathan are old enough now to make ornaments, all of which go somewhere on the tree. As we take each one out and hang it up, we talk about where it came from. Each year our list of "do you remembers" gets longer, and each memory grows more precious.
Step #4: Hang the kid's ornaments.
When Lydia was born, Matt and I decided that for every Christmas of her life, we would get her an ornament. When she gets married, we will give her the ornaments as a wedding gift. (Hopefully she won't want a theme tree.) As she got older, we let her choose her own ornaments. Some of the choices have been pretty interesting! We continued this tradition with Nathan, and will do the same with Lily. The last step of our actual decorating process is the kids unwrapping and hanging up each of their ornaments. This year, Lydia and Nathan both chose a baseball player jumping jack from our visit to the Louisville Slugger museum.
Lily hangs her first ornament.Step #5 Drink hot chocolate and eat the cookies.
Of course, the hot chocolate has to be served in fancy cups. I saw this in a magazine when Lydia was not quite three, and made them to drink our hot chocolate out of that year when we put up the tree. The next year, she remembered and asked for the "candy glasses" again. These are made by dipping the rim of the mug in melted white chocolate, then in crushed peppermints. They make a huge mess when you're trying to drink out of them, but Lydia and Nathan like them, so they have become a part of our tradition!
Of course, the hot chocolate has to be served in fancy cups. I saw this in a magazine when Lydia was not quite three, and made them to drink our hot chocolate out of that year when we put up the tree. The next year, she remembered and asked for the "candy glasses" again. These are made by dipping the rim of the mug in melted white chocolate, then in crushed peppermints. They make a huge mess when you're trying to drink out of them, but Lydia and Nathan like them, so they have become a part of our tradition!
I'm not sure what this sad face was about!
Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. Even as your parents, we were not aware of these wonderful traditions you have begun for your family. I really love the idea of the ornament collection for each child. Can you imagine what memories they will have to tell their children someday!
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