We have a handful of traditions at Christmas time that my kids look forward to. Some are formal, while others are a little more casual, some are fun while others teach a spiritual message.
here are a few . . .
late night steamed egg nog and couch chats
opening pajamas on Christmas Eve
family knock and drop
gingerbread house with Grandma
dressing up and acting out the nativity with the Milads
advent calenders on the fridge
and a few more . . .
In our old house we used to have a full staircase where the kids would gather at the top of the stairs as they each woke up Christmas morning. One by one they would arrive still half asleep, waiting together, giggling about what was to come. Sometimes we would leave them there a little extra time, before we called them down into the living room because they were so wonderfully kind and fun with each other. Now, living in a rancher, we still hold on to the tradition with our two stairs . . .barely.
Before the mountain of shiny wrapped gifts are opened, we hand out the figurines of the nativity and each of us get to share a little part of the story to remind us what we are really doing when we share gifts with each other. This year Benjamin got baby Jesus, (a coveted gift) and he decided to share it with his little brother Parker, because after all. . . he was a baby just like Jesus. My eyes welled up with tears it was such a lovely gesture by my five year old.
A Little Lesson
We forgot one of my favourite traditions this year. Things were busy and we just simply forgot. At the beginning of December when we put all the nativitiy sets out, (about seven of them) I usually put them out without the baby Jesus figurine. This exercise reminded us that all season we are waiting for him to be born. My little kids would anxiously wait until Christmas morning to finally see Him, and they would shout "He's Here!!!" running from nativity to nativity seeing the baby Jesus in the arms of Mary or laying peacefully in a manger. It used to warm my heart that that was the focus on Christmas morning was "finding Jesus" instead of good ol Santa Claus. When I realized we had forgotten to do this tradition, it was too late. I reflected on the importance of writing down not just the memories we create as families but the traditions, big or small, that unite and bind us together.
