Christmas Traditions

I think holiday traditions are one of the major parts of being a family. It has been fun being married and blending some of the traditions that we both grew up with as well as create some new ones of our own. I absolutely LOVE this time of year spending time as a family building bonds as we continue these traditions year after year.

One tradition is a visit to the Santa House each year. This is a house in our town that is only open a few weeks a year and is made just for kids to come sit on Santa's lap and gaze in awe of this house filled to the top with an amazing Christmas display. This place is the best and it even "snows" bubbles from inside all day long! Our next tradition is a visit to the biggest Christmas store in the world. We let the kids pick out an ornament each year and they get to decorate their own kid tree. We have started to get quite the collection. I already imagine packaging up each ornament in a special box to give to each child for their first Christmas once they are married. Abby has been collecting birds and Morgan is collecting butterflies...the boys don't have a specific theme but it is fun to see what they choose each year.

This next one comes from my family. It is said to be a German tradition to hide a pickle in your tree. Whoever finds it first in our family gets an extra present on Christmas morning. I usually hide it deep in the tree and the kids love searching for it each year.

This one is not so much a tradition but a decoration. There has been much controversy over this Santa as well as the infamous "fanta" that even though he is just a decoration he has become a tradition because of the great story that comes along with this jolly old fellow. If you don't remember or don't know the story I posted about it I think last year and you can go back and read if you really desire.
This tradition is also one from the Carn side of the family. Also one based on a strong competitive nature of the Carn boys. Diane made an advent calendar for her family and each day the kids got to put up one of the hand sewn objects on the tree. The last object is the beloved star. Over the years it has become quite the big deal about who gets to be the one to put the star on the tree. As grown men now...they are still so competitive that it is usually a race to see who can get to the house first when they visit for Christmas and they will take the star and hide it until Christmas eve when they can be the proud bestower of the star on top of the tree.

Diane who has gotten very wise after the Sata controversy this summer presented each family with an EXACT replica of the advent calendar she made many years ago. She spent countless hours hand beading each object and we will cherish this gift forever.

Funny, that without prompting my kids have already started arguing about who gets to put up the star this year. They definitely have some Carn blood running through them.

This last one is new to us just this year. I have seen this Elf on the Shelf for years but never purchased one until now and boy am I glad I did. It comes with the elf and a book to read to the kids explaining who the elf is and what he does.

Basically he is Santa's helper and watches the kids during the day and reports back to Santa each night if the children have been naughty or nice. The kids get to find him in a new spot each morning when they wake up. They also get to name him. We named our elf Ninny Muggins based of the movie Elf. The line where he calls himself a "cotton headed ninny muggins" is one of our favorites and it seemed to fit him perfectly.

The kids get up each morning and run around the house like crazy looking for Ninny Muggins and have quite enjoyed his sense of humor so far. They have found him sleeping in one of Morgan's Barbie beds, brushing his teeth, hangin' with some of his best pals and they have even found him dangling from a light fixture. This is a tradition that will for sure be a part of our family for years to come.

When I think of growing up I remember the traditions and they warm my heart and bring a smile to my face. It will be fun to see what my own kids hang on to and continue with their kids one day!