I love this time of year, and I thought I’d share just a few of our favorite traditions for the Christmas season!
This ornament was hand-picked especially for my little chef!
1) New Ornaments
Every November, I begin the search for a new ornament for each girl. I look for something special — something that tells a story about the year. It may be something they loved to do or something they learned to do. Then, I write the story behind the ornament and share why we picked that particular one.
2) Three Christmas Gifts
As a mom, I find it so tempting to over-buy for my girls. I see all kinds of things I think would be wonderful gifts for them, so to cut-down on our purchases, we started limiting ourselves to three gifts per girl. You can see more about why and how we do that here.
3) Sugar Cookies
My mom has THE BEST recipe for sugar cookies. Every year, I get together with my mom and sisters — and we bake sugar cookies. I have such fond memories! I remember several years of taking plates filled with cookies to friends and neighbors and caroling at their doors. (If you bake these cookies, just remember: cream cheese frosting is a must!) 🙂
4) “What God Really Wants for Christmas”
I don’t know if I heard a radio program from FamilyLife about this particular product or what, but somehow we decided to buy the interactive nativity set called What God Wants for Christmas. We’ve used it for several years now, and already the girls are begging to start it again this year. Each night there is a short devotional and a “gift” to unwrap (a box to open). Ultimately, we see what God wants for Christmas — it’s us!
5) Birthday Party
Although there are several ways we try to focus our attention on Jesus during the Christmas season, the girls think this one is a blast. We have a birthday party for Jesus — complete with candles, cake, and birthday hats! This year, we’re adding gift-giving to the party. We’re going shopping for a baby, and then we’ll donate the items to a local pregnancy crisis center!
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?!!
Awww, that is exactly what I do with the ornaments! Each one is packed away with a little note explaining why that ornament is significant and the year it was purchased.
Santa brings our kids 3 gifts also because baby Jesus received 3 gifts. I clicked over to your other blog to see, but I kinda figured that was your reasoning too! I like your specific categories.
It’s so fun…even after just a few years to read why we picked the ornaments!
SUCH WONDERFUL ideas! I love it!