I feel like there’s no other time of year more full of traditions than Christmas. We already have quite a few here, and with the kids still quite young, I am sure we’ll be adding to them year on year going forward. So here are a few of our Christmas traditions, in no particular order….
We have Marty the Elf here, who arrives every year on December 1st, much to the delight of the kids. Our elf moves around each night, so the fun here is finding him every morning. I admit that this is one that seemed a good idea for the first year or two, and once the magic begins, it can’t just stop, can it?!
The kids have their Advent calendars, often brought by Marty. Then the Christmas tree and decorations usually go up on the first Saturday in December. We do not change up our themes every year, as I think there’s tradition in getting the same decorations out each year, remembering them fondly from years gone by. That said, the kids each choose one new decoration for the tree each year, which they do get very excited about.
This year we’ve thrown in a couple of new practices that I can see us making into annual traditions. We have the Reverse Advent Calendar here, where we’re popping food into a bag each day ready to take to the food bank. The kids are actually putting something each in daily, so we will complete this one in half the time, giving us time to get it to the food bank and to those that need it. We also popped to our local B&M and bought and donated a couple of toys there, a really easy little thing to do.
On Christmas Eve, the kids wake up to find that they have a few items in their stockings. It tends to be just a few bits, such as new pyjamas, a Christmas book or film and some chocolates. This year we’ll be having a Christmas Eve box, too, thanks to the lovely folks at Nutmeg at Morrisons. For they have sent us this bundle of festive fun…
..it’s given me a warm, fuzzy feeling! In there we have gorgeous spotty new mugs, hot chocolate and marshmallows, along with chocolate to nibble on, so we’re all set for snacks. I ADORE our new ‘mini mi’ matching Christmas jumpers, they are gorgeous bright designs and so very soft to touch. The adult jumpers are £12 and the kids ones are £10, great value and Boo and I have been talking about a matching outfit, so these are just perfect. So on Christmas Eve will be making our gingerbread house, watching our new Disney DVD whilst drinking our hot chocolates, wearing our new jumpers! I cannot wait! I can see this being something that we will do every year, I mean, how lovely does that all sound for Christmas Eve?
A very important day in our Christmas calendar has got be Muppet Christmas Carol Day. Yes, it’s an official day. We are only allowed to watch this once a year, and that has to be at my mum’s house with my brother and his wife. It’s an annual event, involving more than ‘just’ the film, though of course that’s integral and I am already getting excited just thinking about it!
Is it weird that a real festive moment for the Husband and I is the Christmas TV magazine? That’s normal, right?! I love reading it and then grabbing my pen and circling all that we need to record and see. It’s a festive milestone!
Visits to Santa, of course, are absolutely crucial. The kids tend to see two or three, thanks to my work here as we get invited to lots. Both children fully believe in the magic, so it’s so beautiful to see them both talking to him, with wonder in their eyes. They also like to follow up the visit with a letter to him, they don’t want to leave those gift requests to chance!
There’s then all of the extras, the mince pies, the Christmas movies, the festive clothes and accessories. It all adds up, we must do it all!
What about you? What Christmas traditions do you love?
Disclosure: With thanks to Nutmeg at Morrisons for sending us our Christmas Eve box
Hi J. Lovely post. We play a game of A-Z of Christmas words and we also play bingo for which I buy a few small prizes and Jon always makes sure the boys win! On xmas eve for tea we have taken to having a little buffet for tea as it means no cooking for me and a lot less washing up. Jon and I normally do the veg for Christmas Day when the kids are watching a festive film and we have a little tipple of something to move the job along….. Our community lunch is at the beginning of December and for that Jon and I do the potatoes for 40 people the night before and I cook them on the day – so lucky that we live right across from the community centre that i can just walk the trays across. Does it say something about us that most of these things involve food?!!
Ha ha, yes, and I don’t blame you! We’re planning a little buffet tea this Christmas Eve, too, to go with those lovely chilled activities we have. The bingo sounds fun!