Well, we made it back from California and it could not have gone any better! The kids were great- not a single complaint going down or coming home.
I decided while driving home that one of the most underrated sights of the season is a family packed into a car with a Christmas tree strapped to the top. Just thinking of all the life-long memories that are being made warms the heart.
The kids have a new favorite song! I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas. I've had it on my ipod for a while because it's a fun little song, but they got absolutely addicted to it on the drive home. Now whenever they are in the car with me, we have to play it and sing along. They laugh every time and know the words by heart. Lil' Shane even came up to me last night and tried to convince me that we could keep a hippo in the shop it he really did get one for Christmas. I took the easy way out and told him that was up to Santa. That's right- throw the jolly old elf under the bus.
We are going out to cut our Christmas tree this Saturday. Normally we do this the Friday after Thanksgiving, but our California trip necessitated a change in plans. Now I am positively itching to get it up, and Lil' Shane has talked non-stop about helping me hang Christmas lights this year. I LOVE being a parent at Christmas time! To be totally honest, Christmas was almost becoming a depressing time of the year for me. Just another reminder that once again I was observing Christmas with no children. Now the magic is definitely back! Seeing the wonder in Shane and Anna's faces when we pass Christmas lights and other sights and sounds of the season has completely replaced that depression with absolute joy.
Prety soon, we'll start putting out the nativity scene one peice per night, explaining the significance of each one. We'll end on Christmas Eve by putting Christ in his manger. We'll bake cookies for Santa and set them out with a glass of milk. (In Melissa's home growing up, it was beer and pretzels!) Then we'll open one present- new pajamas for everyone- and head to bed.
What are some of the traditions your families enjoy?
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I couldn't agree more. There is no greater joy than experiencing Christmas through the eyes of your children, especially when you get to teach them the real reason for the season!
ReplyDeleteWe always open one gift on Christmas eve. And it is ALWAYS pajamas. There is nothing like going to bed in new pajamas for Christmas. I've had that tradition since I was knee high to a grasshopper. And we have never missed it.
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