Our New Christmas Traditions

     Now that we have our sweet little Lucas Lane, Christmas has become much more special to our little family.  We have been creating our very own Christmas traditions the past two years, and it has really made this time of year absolutely wonderful.
      Sadly, this year we haven't been able to decorate or set up a Christmas tree.  My husband is NOT a holiday person and hates Christmas decorations, so he has absolutely loved our house being decoration-free this year.  We haven't put up any decorations for several reasons: 1. Our new apartment is super tiny, so there's no room for a tree.  2. All of our Christmas decorations are in storage.  3. Lucas' tiny hands love to explore and grab things, so I'm thinking the tree would be a disaster.  We do have all of our gifts wrapped and out, and I do have my chalkboard decorated, but that's the extent of our Christmas decorating for this year.

     As parents, this time of year has taken on a new meaning for us.  We are making new Christmas traditions, and that has been so much fun for us.  Last year Lucas was only 3 1/2 months old for his first Christmas, so we really didn't do a whole lot.  We bought a real tree to decorate, and even though it was rather large and took up a lot of room, we loved it.  It made the house smell like winter; I do miss that this year.  Lucas "opened" his Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve, and we read The  Polar Express at bedtime.  

       This year, we are continuing and adding to the traditions.  These are a few of our ideas that we plan on doing this year and years to come:

• Open a small gift each night counting down to Christmas.  This was actually my husband's idea-I know, shocking!  He wanted to start 12 days out, but you could adjust that if you wanted.  Gift ideas: Christmas books, games for the family to play together, toys from the Target dollar bins, coloring books, crayons, socks, mittens, $5 gift cards, Christmas movies, etc.  Keep it simple and inexpensive.
• Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.  I go ahead and wash them and then wrap them up to open on Christmas Eve, that way they are ready to wear.
• Take pictures with Santa.  These will be so cute to look back on.  Lucas was NOT a fan of Santa this year. :(
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• 2015
• Read The Polar Express or another Christmas story at bedtime on Christmas Eve.  Lucas loves his books and for me to read to him every night, so I bought him several Christmas books to open before Christmas.  I'm sure we will be reading these every night.  (I bought: Little Blue Truck's Christmas, Paw Patrol: The Pups Save Christmas, Dream Snow, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Littlest Elf, and The Itsy Bitsy Snowman) 
• Read the story of Jesus' birth-that is the true reason for the season after all!
• Do a Christmas craft with the family.  There are TONS of ideas on Pinterest!  This link has a lot of cute, fun ideas for kids: 20 Christmas Crafts
• Make Christmas themed snacks.  I love these HEALTHY & super cute ideas: Grinch Fruit Kabobs, Banana Strawberry Santas, String Cheese Snowmen, and Reindeer Sandwiches
• Make hand print ornaments.  I used this recipe and followed her instructions: Salt Dough Ornaments  The only thing I did differently was add food coloring to the dough.  We made an ornament for us to keep, and then one for each of the grandparents and great-grandparents.  
  
• Buy a real Christmas tree to decorate with the family.  Take family pictures in front of the tree either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
  
• Let the kids pick out an ornament each year.  I know a lot of parents who pick out and buy the ornaments for their kids, and that is a good idea too, but I think it would be neat to have the kids pick out their own each year.  It would be neat to see how each child's choice in ornament changes as years go by.  Of course I would write the child's name and the year somewhere on the ornament.  This will make your Christmas tree decorations so special!
• Have a Christmas movie night with the family.  This wouldn't work with Lucas right now because he doesn't just sit and watch tv, but a few years from now, this will be great.  Make hot chocolate & a yummy Christmas snack.  I want to make this: Grinch Popcorn  
• Make a special treat for the neighbors, or in our case, apartment complex managers.  Check out these ideas: Christmas Pretzel Sticks, Holiday Puppy Chow, and Christmas Crunch
• Donate to a good cause or to a charity; volunteer somewhere as a family.
• Make cookies for Santa.  Even though it would be fun to make them completely from scratch, it's totally fine if you buy the dough already made.  Make (or buy) some frosting, get some Christmas sprinkles, and voila--you've got yourself a giant mess and sprinkles everywhere happy children creating memories!  
• Stop by Starbucks (or your personal favorite coffee shop) and order your favorite holiday drink.  Then drive around looking at Christmas lights with the family.

     Those are just a few ideas we've thought of!  I'm sure we'll modify and adjust (ah, there's my teacher language coming out) as the years go by.  What do you and your family do?  Comment your ideas and traditions below!  I'd love to read about them!

With love,
L