Christmas Traditions

Don't you love Christmas memories from your childhood? I remember sleeping with my sister every Christmas Eve. We always woke up super early and sat at the top of the stairs, calling to see if we could come down yet. I remember my Oma's Christmas cookies, our Christmas stockings, big tubs of popcorn, watching It's a Wonderful Life and the Raisens Christmas special. I remember my mom cooking a delicious meal and serving it at a fancy table and special Norwegian Christmas china. I remember all the decorations she would put out to decorate our house each year, and my dad videotaping us as we opened our gifts.

Since Matt and I dated since we were in high school, we have Christmas memories too. We always went to Christmas Eve service seperately with our families and then a second service later together. We love going to see a live performance of Handel's Messiah and try to go as often as we can.

One of the most fun things about becoming an adult and having a family is starting your own Christmas traditions. This year it has been especially fun because it's the first year Saylor really gets it.

It's our third year to go to Santa's Village in Richardson to visit this guy

 

Hanging up our Christmas cards. Saylor has loved looking at these and showing Matt the new ones that have arrived each day when he gets home from work.

 

Making gingerbread houses (Saylor was mostly interested in eating it)

 

I completely stole this from my friend Lauren, but I like the idea of getting a new ornament to represent something that happened each year

 

Here are our same Christmas stockings. My dad's mom knitted these for her five kids and then their entire extended family. Even after she passed away we have kept the tradition alive by adding a new one with each new spouse, child, etc. I love, love, LOVE these stockings...they are so special to me.

 

Here I am as a little girl opening the same exact one:

 

This year Matt and I started a new tradition. We had an "advent" time with Saylor and Gray each night (well, sometimes G was already in bed ;)). We turned off all the lights, lit an advent candle, did our advent calendar (see below), said a prayer and sang a Christmas carol. We kept it pretty short and simple this year, but our hope with this tradition is to eventually use it as a time to read scripture starting from the Old Testament pointing to and leading up to Jesus' birth.

 

I got this idea from Noel Piper who used to make these but since she no longer does I just made my own. It's a different take on an advent calendar. Every night we read a part of the advent story and add a character to the nativity scene. The next night, you start from the beginning and add another verse. The idea is that by Christmas, kids know the whole story by heart. It has been a big hit, although it's still hard for her to understand why we can't just put baby Jesus up now. :)

 

Say's favorite part every night is blowing out all the candles. :)

 

We've also done lots of Christmas baking of course!

 

 

Matt met a great lady through his job named Ms. Hill. She lives in a neighborhood in South Dallas and has done so much for her community! For several years now, our home group has helped provide toys for some of the kids for Christmas. This year, Saylor went with Matt to deliver the gifts to Ms. Hill. They were instant buddies... :)

 

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas. We have two amazing kids, we are about to celebrate eight years of marriage, we have a great house, good jobs, a wonderful church and truly good friends. We get to host Christmas for both sides of our family this year later this week. We get to go on a special trip in January to the beach to celebrate my sweet sister and Miguel getting married!

And most of all, even if we didn't have any of that, we have the most important thing:

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

I have been trying hard to make sure we teach our kiddos the real reason for Christmas, but I realized tonight that I myself have been getting a bit lost and stressed in all the hustle and bustle. I am praying this week for the mindset to slow down, rest, reflect and rejoice in all that we have to celebrate.

Merry Christmas!!!