Christmas... my favourite time of year!!

I haven't posted in a long time... it's been a busy fall! 

What is your favourite time of year?? Mine is Christmas.  It's the time of year that we get to spoil our friends and family with gifts and kindness.  I love it! 

Growing up we always had a perfectly decorated tree, perfectly baked cookies and perfectly wrapped gifts.  Now that I'm "all grown up" my goal is to focus on the meaning behind the tree, the cookies and the gifts! I try to not get caught up in the temptation of being "perfect" but instead, pour my heart into everything that we do over the season!

Here are a few traditions that we partake in as a family:

1. The celebration of advent.  The kids and I do somet kind of advent calendar/countdown/countup thing to keep track of the month.  We read a couple of different stories about the first Christmas and talk about the meaning behind the advent themes:  peace, hope, love and joy!   In the past we have lit advent candles every week, but this year we made some out of paper...

2.  Gifts... we do give gifts! I love shopping, I love seeing the kids' eyes as they open their gifts on Christmas!  We give gifts, because we believe the Jesus was given as a gift, to the world.  The kids also give gifts away, as we put together Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes every year to give to children who may or may not have a Christmas.

3.  Food!  Of course, food... Turkey with all the fixins'  This year in school we learned about the food in France and Mexico at Christmas time... we are going to try and make something like what they would eat in those countries for dinner... just to spice things up a little bit!  On Christmas morning we have a "wife saver"  -- we always had this growing up and I have made it almost every year, this year will be the same!

4. Christmas Eve -- we will read the Christmas story and open 1 gift that is always pajamas... this year homemade pajamas, by yours truly!  We will likely go to church on Sunday morning instead of Christmas Eve this year, simply because Mama likes an early bedtime... cause we all know it will be an early morning!

Enjoy your traditions this year and why not make a new one? 

Merry Christmas!