Christmas Traditions

I LOVE the Christmas season! I love everything about it! Most people fuss and fume over the commercialism of the season, going on and on about the effect it has on our children, making them selfish and greedy, etc., etc., etc.! Even that doesn't bother me. It never did. Since we don't watch TV, there was never any opportunity for my kids to say "I want this". I would take my kids shopping and watch what they looked at with interest, make a mental note of it and then I shopped from the list in my head. It worked perfectly every time! I never allowed my kids to make a dream list, or Santa list, or whatever they are called. And I never allowed them to show disdain or disappointment in ANY gift, no matter how large or small. Granted, there were times that we all raised our eyebrows at a gift or two, like the time the church that we were pastoring surprised the kids with gifts of their own. Janelle got the cutest little doll. The problem was, Jeren got one, too. Granted....his was a BOY doll, but he wasn't thrilled, to say the least. But.....he STILL had to say 'Thank you'!
I think the sweetest thing about the Christmas season are the family traditions that we make. Before I was married, I enjoyed the Stimmel family traditions. After I married, I became a part of the Miles traditions. But, Ken and I realized that we and our children were a family unit all of our own and we needed our own set of traditions. We borrowed some from our childhood memories and created others, just for us. These are things that our kids have looked forward to every year, even now that they are grown. Some traditions have been archived, such as the advent calendar. This daily calendar of surprises, leading us to the anticipation of the coming nativity, requires daily participation. Both kids have outgrown that, especially since Jeren is not here every day. So, it is now a fond memory. But we still have stockings, which we dive into on Christmas Eve. We still take one evening, preferably a snowy one, to roam the countryside looking for the most beautifully decorated homes. We still bake and decorate cookies together and we still drive across snowy roads and sit on frosty benches to watch the live nativity at one of the local churches. We go to see Scrooge's Christmas Carol EVERY year at the big Church of God and then have a party afterward at our house where we enjoy the warm fellowship of good friends. Lots of love, lots of laughter, lots of JOY!
As I'm writing this blog in the cozy comfort of my family room, I am watching it snow! It's just the perfect day to decorate the house, which is what I am getting ready to do....another tradition of ours....a Christmas Tree in EVERY ROOM! The Christmas music is ready to be turned on, the house is toasty warm and I'm rearin' to get to my traditions! Hope your Christmas is as full of happiness and fun as mine!