Christmas Traditions, Old and New
- New: Watching George C. Scott’s A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve Eve, all squished together on our king-sized bed, complete with the 3-year-old hiding her eyes every time the “Black Ghost” came on screen.
- Old: Making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. This year we made Peppermint Meltaways. Divine.
- New: A fancy-schmancy Christmas Eve dinner. This year we had lasagna by candlelight.
- New: A family music recital for Christmas Eve after dinner. It was my six-year-old daughter’s idea and she very carefully planned the whole event.
- Old: The opening of Christmas pajamas. This year even my husband and I got some, due to our lack of really warm PJs and the definite need for them up here in the snow.
- Old: Listening to Amahl and the Night Visitors by the light of the Christmas tree, while all cuddled together on the couch and eating some of our Christmas cookies.
- New: All of us camping out together upstairs. This was necessary because my husband does not want the children to see what Santa brought without us. The way this house is set up, they would have to pass the tree in order to come into our bedroom, as our room is on the main floor and the kids are upstairs. So, the obvious solution was for all of us to sleep in the same room upstairs. It was actually really fun.
- Old: The opening of gifts on Christmas morning! We were spoiled this year, as we usually are.
- New: Building an awesome snowman using our new snowman building kit given to us by some neighbors. (Actually, only my husband and two of the girls participated in this activity. My middle daughter preferred to stay inside and test out all of her new art supplies, and I preferred to stay inside and be warm.)
- Old: Getting all dressed up in our new Christmas duds for Christmas dinner (which was eaten at the home of the same wonderful neighbors who gave us the snowman kit).
- Old: Falling into bed exhausted, full and happy after two days of fun, food and family.
Your Christmas seriously looks perfect!
I used to LOVE Christmas Eve campouts—almost more than Christmas itself. I was broken hearted when my brothers decided they were too old for that.
How fun. Thanks for sharing! Too tired to think of anything else clever to say about it right now 😉
I love the family clad in Christmas pjs & also the hugging snowman.
This year we went to Provo for Christmas, but sadly, there wasn't much snow. Our kids made a snowman about 1 foot tall, complete with carrot nose.
Happy days, merry post-Christmas & soon-to-be New Year!
What delightful traditions you have! I love it!
I love it all! You guys are so on track with your daughters.
This year we got slippers instead of pjs, but Santa couldn't find any for the one lady in the house, so only 5 pair were wrapped and unwrapped. 🙂
Happy New Year!
What a great Christmas, I wish I could build a snowman!
Your home is everything gorgeous, cozy, and contented. It looks like a beautiful Christmas!
What a nice Christmas! We started a couple of new traditions this year too. As always, I love the pictures.
What a perfect holiday … ours consisted of old and new as well – isn't it great? Those peppermint cookies look so beautiful and tasty. Anyhow, it all looks like a beautiful time for your family. So glad!
Oh, that was SO much fun to read!!!
What a beautiful family! I love the Pj's and I love how gorgeous the girls look in red!! yay, score on that one! Bria's glasses look great on her! Look at the curls on Sophie, and Chloes grin!! I miss my family, wahhhhhhhhh!
Sounds like a perfect Christmas.
Ours was wonderful, but I miss you all more than ever.
Love the cozy jammies.
I nixed that tradition this year due to the shortage in Kanoa's size & the overage in Gabriel's drawer.
Wonderful traditions, new and old!
:~D
What a lovely post!
This was fun to read! I love the idea of a snowman kit as a gift. You have some fun neighbors 🙂 I bet all spending Christmas Eve in the same room was fun and extra exciting for your girls. I always leave your blog inspired-Thank you.
I love your taste! Those stockings are just divine! I also love how despite the tried and true traditions, some new ones manage to get in the mix and make every holiday much interesting and memorable. Your family looks great!
Happy New Year!
What fun traditions! I loved Chloe's idea for the Christmas Eve Music Recital. Your PJ Picture is darling. Glad you had a wonderful Christmas.
Sounds wonderful. I can't see the full effect of the girl's sweaters, but I think Sophie's is the kind I wanted to get for Zoie. Red is such a good color. 🙂
I love hearing about your traditions, and which new things you've adopted as a family. We've been reflecting on our new Christmas traditions, too, since this is our first holiday we've actually spent in our new home. It's so nice to see that we're not the only ones!
Your traditions are beautiful, and I hope you had the perfect day!
I love the family PJs and the musical feast on Christmas Eve. Only in your family would that sound appealing to me!
Everything looks so gorgeous! I have heard that there is a movie on video of Amhal–I think it was made in the 20's or 30's. I have thought about trying to track it down. Have you seen it?
Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas with wonderful Christmas traditions!!