Tradition!

Ever sense I saw my sister in the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" I can't help but sing the word "tradition!", thus the explanation point. Tradition is a huge consideration during the Christmas season. Nate and I are often saying, "what is our Christmas tradition going to look like?" This year I am very excited about our latest addition to our tradition. We have decided to really look at Christmas as a season, with the climax on Christmas day. One way that we have tried to do this is by spreading presents out over the advent season rather than one big ambush on Christmas. Lucy and Will got their first presents last Sunday before church, and will continue to get presents (growing in size, or value), until they get their main present on Christmas. This might seem like "one more thing to do" in the season. But to avoid this I have tried to keep it simple. Their first presents were free, next they will get a few things from the dollar section, then a gingerbread house (which I was hoping to get anyway), and so on. Of course the main present is on Christmas, as Christmas day is for sure the climax of the season.

To keep a special aura in our house during the Christmas season we have some other "specials". For one, we try to have more "treats". Now I don't only mean sweets, though Peppermint jo jos and hot cocoa have been more regular, but more family game time, specials outings, and Christmas toys under the tree. Just the other night Nate and Lucy brought out all the blankets into the living room, put on our favorite Christmas music and played Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders while sipping on some cocoas. We have also grown a little collection of special Christmas toys. Papa and Maz got us a little fabric manger and Christmas stacking dolls and Grandma and Grandpa have gotten us 2 new books that the kids love. Christmas music is almost a constant and Lucy is already becoming quite familiar with many of the tunes. Will and Lucy are especially familiar with the first verse of "Joy to the World" as we are singing it every night before dinner.

At any rate, there are some of our traditions we have started to prepare ourselves for Christ's birth. This is such a marvelous time of the year and our hope that these things will help us keep our minds on, as cliche as it is, "the reason for the season". As for Christmas Eve and day, well, that's a whole nuther post....