I had a tough time deciding where to put the tree up this year. The problem is having enough room for everyone to comfortably fit during gatherings. We ended up taking furniture out of the room and it worked out perfectly.
Some of our traditions the kids think are a little...silly. For example, when the kids were little, when I would set up a nativity I would always put the wisemen across the room somewhere because in reality they didn't arrive in Bethlehem until Jesus was a toddler.
(By the way, has anyone else ever noticed the weird size scale nativity figures often use? I really doubt the wisemen traveled on baby camels for instance...)
Another thing I would do is not put Jesus in the creche until Christmas eve.
In the picture above Mary and Joseph are pondering the baby that is soon to come...what can I say? I like historical accuracy. :)
The kids seem to really like other traditions we have, such as our Christmas stockings for instance. This tradition actually started with my mother. Back in 1977 she crocheted Christmas stockings for our whole family and put the year on the back. When Jim and I began dating she made a stocking for him too and put the year he "joined the family" (1983) on his. After we were married she gave Jim and me our stockings and we hung them in our own home. As our children came along she made them each stockings too, complete with dates they became part of our family. Now I continue the tradition by adding stockings for each of our kids' significant others as they join our family.
This year I hung up fourteen stockings...
They included the ten for our family, two for my parents who join us every Christmas, one for my brother Matt, and also my Uncle Jerry's stocking. Jerry went to heaven this past September.
Jerry would also always join us at Christmas time and it just didn't seem right not to hang his stocking even though I'm sure his Christmas in heaven was way more fun than ours here on earth. I love looking at the row of stockings every year. It is an excellent reminder of how our family is and continues to be blessed. The other really great thing we love about these stockings is that no matter how much we stuff them from year to year (and trust me, sometimes they are TERRIBLY misshapen) they always bounce back for another round of gifts and fun the following year. I am so thankful my creative mother started this particular tradition all those years ago!
This year the dogs even got stockings stuffed with toys. Everyone participates in the Christmas stocking tradition~
One of my personal favorite things to do is to display a decoration that holds special memory significance. I never have room to put out everything at once, but that only makes it more special on the years an item is displayed. This year I put out the holly dishes that had belonged to my mom. I remember her putting them out at Christmas time too. I have added a few pieces over the years as I find them in antique shops. I just LOVE these dishes!
Another special tradition I look forward to every year is making gifts. Homemade gifts have always meant something special to me when I receive them. They tell me the giver thought enough of me to put a little extra effort into a gift to make it special. My dining room table became a craft center for a while this year.
I made several things this year, but one of the more fun things I made was Christmas ornaments for Jim's senior choir members.
Yes, this is an original design created by me, there are no other ornaments like this in existence on the planet, so if you got one hang onto it in case I'm famous someday. Maybe you could sell it on ebay and retire early...well then again, maybe not. Better not quit your day job. :)
Natalie also got into the crafting spirit this year. She wanted to make a really special present for David so she painted him a cookie jar which she filled with his favorite cookies. Nick gave her the idea to make a Packer helmet. She spent two days on it and when it was finished it looked great!
In amongst all our Christmas decorating and crafting we took some time out to celebrate a special event. My siblings and I surprised my parents for their 49th anniversary on December 8th. We met at Benvenutos in Beaver Dam and had special outfits for them to wear.
Benvenutos is an excellent restaurant and we had a very good time. Next year my parents will celebrate their 50th anniversary and Jim and I will be celebrating our 25th. We are talking about doing a joint party with old fashioned polkas and circle two steps that were the traditional dances back in our era. I really hope we can find a DJ that can mix those things in with modern day music. With two weddings and our milestone anniversaries coming up, next year promises to be a VERY fun year!
Photo of the Day:
Scripture Verse of the Day:
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Cor. 13:13
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