There really is nothing that compares to this time of year! The colder weather makes us appreciate the coziness and spoil our loved ones; with a meaningful card, a home cooked meal, or a few carefully selected presents. The Christmas season has always been my favorite, and I must admit that I love to celebrate as early as possible (meaning right after my birthday in early November)!
Christmas time was always magical as a child, but now being a mother, it is even better! Watching my babies’ eyes light up as we come together to take part in fun activities, bake delicious goodies for no apparent reason, and just enjoy our time together is the absolute best! I have to say, now that Sophie is old enough to actually take part in all of these things, this has been the best Christmas season yet!
Something that I have always looked forward to was creating a ton of holiday traditions that my little ones would carry on with them throughout their life! I am incredibly blessed to come from a culture that is full of tradition, and while I’m excited to be including those traditions I grew up with, I am more than excited to create our own as well!
Some of our new traditions include:
Taking in Gods word by reading the book of Luke throughout the Christmas season.
I have always known that I wanted to raise my family with a closeness to God. I want my littles to understand “The Reason for the Season” and to grow up knowing that the cause for celebration this time of year is Jesus Christ. A huge part of that is truly knowing who Jesus was and exactly what he did for us. There are 24 chapters in the book of Luke, detailing Jesus’s life from the months before his birth all the way through to the Ascension. This season, I have been reading my bible each day, taking in each different stage and season of Christ’s life. Obviously our little ones are still a little too young to completely dive into reading God’s word, but after I read my chapter of the day, I sit with my little ones, pull our their little Bibles, and show them new story about Jesus. It has been a sweet little moment, and I have noticed that Sophie looks forward to this daily. I feel that it is a wonderful tradition to prepare us for the birth of Jesus each holiday season.
Making Homemade Ornaments/ Choosing a New Ornament
This year is the first year we really got to make our own ornaments, and I have to say that this is one I plan on keeping around for years! It was so awesome to sit down with Sophie with a ton of crafty items and put together our own ornaments. We used clay, cookie cutters, paint, pipe cleaners, beads, and a ton of other things to make a ton of different ornaments. Being someone who loves to create, this truly was a fun activity for Sophie AND myself. I cannot wait for Joshua to join in on the creative fun next year! Something we also do with this tradition is something that Josh and myself started 5 years ago. Each Christmas season, we each get to pick out one new ornament for each other to add to our ornament collection. The reason that this was so important to me is because when I look at our Christmas tree five, ten, or even fifteen years from now, I want our tree to be a beautiful beacon of us. I want to see all of my family’s personalities and passions reflected in our tree. I want to reminisce as we decorate the tree each year, opening up our Christmas bins, and being filled with joy as we pull out each individual ornament. Even this season, our tree is so full of us, I truly cannot put it into words how much joy it brings me!
Homemade Christmas Goodies!
This one is an easy one! I love getting my family altogether in the kitchen, and making some kind of homemade treat! This one is nice because it doesn’t have to be a one time thing, but instead can be done all season long! I like to make homemade hot chocolate and whipped cream, and decorate cookies with my littles at home. These are easy, quick, and fun to do, and then enjoy them afterwards while watching some holiday movies. On a larger scale, I enjoy getting together with my Mom, Sister, and Abuela to make tamales and biscochitos. This is a fun tradition where I get to spend time with all the wonderful ladies in my life and just talk, laugh, create, and enjoy! I really cannot wait to teach Sophie and Joshua how to make these delicious and traditional foods!
The Christmas Eve Box
The Christmas Eve Box is something that can be as simple or as extravagant as you want to make it. Ours are pretty simple. I put together a box for the kids that they can open at our house on Christmas Eve (before we go to celebrate with my family) that is filled with their Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book. You can also choose to put in some treats and even a small toy or activity. Ours are pretty simple, but adds a small Christmas Eve routine where we all get dressed in our pajamas and read a couple stories together!
The Night Before Christmas
This one is also pretty simple! The four of us sit together and enjoy Josh reading “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve. You can’t turn down a holiday classic!
Christmas Tree Picture
Josh and I unknowingly started this one 4 years ago by announcing our first pregnancy with a picture in front of our Christmas tree. Since that year we have taken a family photo in front of our Christmas tree, and each photo is placed in a photo frame ornament that goes up on our tree. It is a fun way to see how we grow as a family each year!
Each holiday season is special in its own way, simply because we are constantly changing and growing, and heading into a new season of life. Christmas time doesn’t need to be extravagant or expensive, but it is a time to show love and gratitude to those around us who mean so much! I would love to know your sweet holiday traditions in the comments below, and I hope you all enjoyed the sweet little traditions of ours!
quirky & caffeinated 