still thinking about christmas

if you don't know, i LOVE family traditions...mainly because i never had any of my own. so many of my friends are lucky enough to carry on traditions from their childhood and i don't have that. i have spent many years trying to come up with some of my own...i do have a few:

1. entertaining both sides of our family at my house every thanksgiving
2. we take the kids to the Bristol lights every year
3. every thanksgiving and Christmas i take a group family photo

i always 'mean' to do this one but always forget:

This can be a fun and quick Christmas Eve family activity. Make and sprinkle reindeer food on your lawn to attract Santa and his reindeer.

Reindeer Food

Sprinkle on the lawn or door step at night.
The moon will make it sparkle bright
as Santa's reindeer fly and roam
this will guide them to your home!

How to make:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup instant oatmeal

2 tbsp of glitter* (substitute edible sprinkles if you live in an area with wildlife)

Gift Idea:

You can also put this in a decorative baggie, seal it with red ribbon, and attach a Christmas pencil as a small gift at a school or church Christmas Party.

as you can see...i need way more meaningful traditions...here are a few i have stumbled upon that i really like:

1. Christmas Books

CWrap up 25 Christmas books and unwrap one and read it every night until Christmas. It's a wonderful way to get have your children practice as well as get in the Christmas spirit.


2. Stocking Letters

Have each member of your family write notes to each other, including parents, and put them in each other’s stockings. They are to write one letter a day and make sure that they end up writing at least one letter to each family member. You get to read them on Christmas morning.

I think this is such a wonderful tradition because it's nice for siblings to focus on the positive things they like about each other.


3. Wish Bottle

Make a Wish Bottle for your family tree out of anything, like a repurposed an old spice bottle and decorated it.

You hang your little Wish Bottle on your Christmas tree. Inside, rolled up, is a small piece of paper that you can jot down your wishes for Christmas just for that special someone to walk by and see! They can pull your wish list out, tuck it in their pocket and then leave theirs for you!


4. Celebrates Nickolaus on December 6th

Nikolaus is the German Santa Claus and comes on December 6th and fills your shoes with treats and gifts. Have your kids line their shoes up by the front door the night before.


5. Participate in an Angel Tree

Pick a couple children that had specific needs and purchase those gifts for them. Make it a family affair and enjoy the special spirit of giving this holiday season.

another one i am DEFINITELY doing this year...buying elf on a shelf...i saw this book at the Holiday Market put on my Junior League but then i really understood the tradition after reading about it on my dear friend Anna's blog. it is so cute that the book comes with an elf that you 'adopt' into your family who comes to your house on thanksgiving to watch over the kids and give santa reports on whether they are good or bad. the funniest part is the the elf hides in a different place each morning so the kids have fun looking for him. the way anna did it was to have the elf do something mischievous nightly...like put their socks on the tree...TOO FUNNY!!! for more details on the elf go to the website.

feel free to give me more ideas for traditions...not limited to Christmas...i am trying to pick a select few from the ones i discover.