I'm all about family traditions!
I drive my family crazy with them!!!!
In fact if there was a 12 step program (Traditions anonymous perhaps???) my family would have me committed.
Christmas traditions are my happiest.
As a child we would have a few that were really important to me.
My favourite was picking out our Christmas tree.
Our house backed onto paddocks and over in the far back corner were a collection of trees to pick from. My Dad and his friend would go and cut one down, usually at night so no-one could see them, and carry it back home for us. The smell was DIVINE and so very Chrismassy.
That's my Dad. Hi-tailing it back through the paddock.
When hubby and I became parents we knew that we wanted to carry on some of our favourite traditions from our childhood but also start some of our own. Peanut is still a bit small to understand them just yet but don't worry, I'm working on her. Big sister is just like her Mumma though and is a tradition freak!!
I thought I'd share with you a few of our favourites:
1. Christmas decorations
Not one of our Xmas tree decorations are alike. Every year I take the girls up to The Design Inn and
they pick out a special decoration each for the tree. When they move out of home they can take their
collection with them for their own tree. I got this idea from a friend when I was pregnant with Big Sister and I'm so glad we started it. She has a lovely collection and it's so cute (and sometimes
funny) to see what they pick. Big Sister picked out Peanuts last year as she was too little but this
year she was able to pick her own. We always pick up ornaments from our travels too. So we have some lovely ones from all over the world.
Big Sister's choice this year
and Peanut's
2. The kids always decorate the tree however they want. Let's face it - the excitement we get from Xmas comes from experiencing it through the eyes of children, and they get a real kick out of making all the decisions. Hubby always puts the lights on first, the kids decorate with their decorations and then I add the ribbon. Last but not least is the angel for the top which is a bit special as it was made by Hubby's Grandmother.
3. We always have our Santa pic taken with the Myer Santa. Now this started because of my obsessive qualities. We put each years photo in a black frame and put them all up on the mantle when decorating the house. I know this is crazy but I like having the same chair and backdrop in each photo. I can see exactly how much the kids grow each year. Oh my.... please don't judge!!!!
4. Christmas books. About 2 weeks before Christmas the Elves visit in the night. They leave the girls a book at the end of their bed and a note. There are so many beautiful Christmas books available and quite often they go on sale after xmas so you can pick up some cheap ones and put them away for the following year. We have built up a lovely little collection over the years. It doesn't take long and we enjoy sitting down to read them together.
This year we added 2 more traditions.
The Gingerbread Party we held last weekend and Elf on the shelf.
I have wanted to do Elf on the shelf for a few years now so this year I managed to hunt one down on The Book Depository and we started on the 1st of December. If you don't know much about it visit the website and check it out. If you have an elf and are looking for some inspiration check out here and here. My advice? Don't try the snow angel in the flour idea. It sticks like crazy to the felt. We found out the hard way.
Peanut hasn't quite got the 'Don't touch the elf' thing down. She LOVES him. Carry's him round for hours.
I can really recommend doing this. You don't need to buy the official Elf on the shelf. I know others who have used elves they have made themselves or ones they already had at home.
The idea is that Santa sends elves out to homes all around the world to check up on all the girls and boys. They report to Santa each night and then travel back to your home each morning. Turning up in a different spot each time. The kids just have to find him.
Here's our little Elf hiding in the Advent Calendar tree. Sneaky little thing!
So there you go. A few of our old and new traditions. What traditions do you have with your family? What are your kids favourite traditions? I'd love to hear from you.
I drive my family crazy with them!!!!
In fact if there was a 12 step program (Traditions anonymous perhaps???) my family would have me committed.
Christmas traditions are my happiest.
As a child we would have a few that were really important to me.
My favourite was picking out our Christmas tree.
Our house backed onto paddocks and over in the far back corner were a collection of trees to pick from. My Dad and his friend would go and cut one down, usually at night so no-one could see them, and carry it back home for us. The smell was DIVINE and so very Chrismassy.
When hubby and I became parents we knew that we wanted to carry on some of our favourite traditions from our childhood but also start some of our own. Peanut is still a bit small to understand them just yet but don't worry, I'm working on her. Big sister is just like her Mumma though and is a tradition freak!!
I thought I'd share with you a few of our favourites:
1. Christmas decorations
Not one of our Xmas tree decorations are alike. Every year I take the girls up to The Design Inn and
they pick out a special decoration each for the tree. When they move out of home they can take their
collection with them for their own tree. I got this idea from a friend when I was pregnant with Big Sister and I'm so glad we started it. She has a lovely collection and it's so cute (and sometimes
funny) to see what they pick. Big Sister picked out Peanuts last year as she was too little but this
year she was able to pick her own. We always pick up ornaments from our travels too. So we have some lovely ones from all over the world.
2. The kids always decorate the tree however they want. Let's face it - the excitement we get from Xmas comes from experiencing it through the eyes of children, and they get a real kick out of making all the decisions. Hubby always puts the lights on first, the kids decorate with their decorations and then I add the ribbon. Last but not least is the angel for the top which is a bit special as it was made by Hubby's Grandmother.
3. We always have our Santa pic taken with the Myer Santa. Now this started because of my obsessive qualities. We put each years photo in a black frame and put them all up on the mantle when decorating the house. I know this is crazy but I like having the same chair and backdrop in each photo. I can see exactly how much the kids grow each year. Oh my.... please don't judge!!!!
4. Christmas books. About 2 weeks before Christmas the Elves visit in the night. They leave the girls a book at the end of their bed and a note. There are so many beautiful Christmas books available and quite often they go on sale after xmas so you can pick up some cheap ones and put them away for the following year. We have built up a lovely little collection over the years. It doesn't take long and we enjoy sitting down to read them together.
This year we added 2 more traditions.
The Gingerbread Party we held last weekend and Elf on the shelf.
I have wanted to do Elf on the shelf for a few years now so this year I managed to hunt one down on The Book Depository and we started on the 1st of December. If you don't know much about it visit the website and check it out. If you have an elf and are looking for some inspiration check out here and here. My advice? Don't try the snow angel in the flour idea. It sticks like crazy to the felt. We found out the hard way.
Peanut hasn't quite got the 'Don't touch the elf' thing down. She LOVES him. Carry's him round for hours.
I can really recommend doing this. You don't need to buy the official Elf on the shelf. I know others who have used elves they have made themselves or ones they already had at home.
The idea is that Santa sends elves out to homes all around the world to check up on all the girls and boys. They report to Santa each night and then travel back to your home each morning. Turning up in a different spot each time. The kids just have to find him.
So there you go. A few of our old and new traditions. What traditions do you have with your family? What are your kids favourite traditions? I'd love to hear from you.
I love these ideas, Soph - and the Christmas photos of growth! I've only taken Fred to sit on (a very grumpy-looking!!) Santa once, but their mutual bizarro expressions (grumpy from Santa, raised eyebrows and fake smile from Fred) makes it priceless :)
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