Today at a lunch with friends, we began discussing Christmas traditions that were dear to us and our families. The ideas were so good that I thought I would share them with you all.
Basket of Christmas Books-- one of the gals collected Christmas-themed books (most of them religious). She keeps them in the attic during the year but at Advent wraps each one in wrapping paper and puts them out in a basket. Each evening her children choose one to unwrap and then she reads it to them.
Christmas Stockings--In the interest of a little more sleep for Mom and Dad on Christmas morning, put the filled stocking in the child's bedroom after they go to sleep. The child has permission to take stuff out of the stocking and play with it until the agreed upon time to get up and see what's under the tree. This clever mom, who must collect wrapping paper as a hobby, wraps the bottom of her stairs on Christmas Eve so that the children get to burst through the paper like a runner winning a race. It also is an incentive not to peek too early!
Purple Plate--This is a variation of the red "You Are Special" plate you may have seen in gift stores. The purple plate appears on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, other family celebrations or just when someone needs encouragement. Everyone at dinner says something complimentary about the person who has the purple plate at their place.
Ornament Fairy--One family has an "ornament fairy" who visits each child during Advent. The children are told the fairy is likely to visit one night and they place a shoe outside their bedroom door which the fairy fills with an ornament. The ornaments are special ones chosen to reflect the children's personality and interests and are labeled with their names. The parents plan to give them those ornaments for their own homes when they grow up and being their own families.
We all loved the story of the oldest member of the group who recalled her grandparents' practice of putting a shiny silver dollar under the plate of each grandchild at Christmas. Those were the days!
Maybe some of you will want to adopt one of these ideas. I would have loved the Basket of Books when Portia and Babs were little. But I can always do it with grandchildren someday!
Basket of Christmas Books-- one of the gals collected Christmas-themed books (most of them religious). She keeps them in the attic during the year but at Advent wraps each one in wrapping paper and puts them out in a basket. Each evening her children choose one to unwrap and then she reads it to them.
Christmas Stockings--In the interest of a little more sleep for Mom and Dad on Christmas morning, put the filled stocking in the child's bedroom after they go to sleep. The child has permission to take stuff out of the stocking and play with it until the agreed upon time to get up and see what's under the tree. This clever mom, who must collect wrapping paper as a hobby, wraps the bottom of her stairs on Christmas Eve so that the children get to burst through the paper like a runner winning a race. It also is an incentive not to peek too early!
Purple Plate--This is a variation of the red "You Are Special" plate you may have seen in gift stores. The purple plate appears on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, other family celebrations or just when someone needs encouragement. Everyone at dinner says something complimentary about the person who has the purple plate at their place.
Ornament Fairy--One family has an "ornament fairy" who visits each child during Advent. The children are told the fairy is likely to visit one night and they place a shoe outside their bedroom door which the fairy fills with an ornament. The ornaments are special ones chosen to reflect the children's personality and interests and are labeled with their names. The parents plan to give them those ornaments for their own homes when they grow up and being their own families.We all loved the story of the oldest member of the group who recalled her grandparents' practice of putting a shiny silver dollar under the plate of each grandchild at Christmas. Those were the days!
Maybe some of you will want to adopt one of these ideas. I would have loved the Basket of Books when Portia and Babs were little. But I can always do it with grandchildren someday!
10 comments:
Great ideas! I too will have to wait for grandkids to do the book thing. I wish I would have thought of the ornament fairy. That would have been great.
Alan
All of these ideas are thoughtful. I love each one of them and wish I'd known of them earlier in our children's lives.
Thanks!
P.S. what is Bea getting for Christmas?
St. Cass--
Bea is getting her very own stocking, some chew toys and an invisible fence for the back yard because she continues to escape from the visible one!
I like all of those!
Good ideas! Thanks.
Glad we're both in this windy, muggy and warm weather of south Texas.
Oh, these are so lovely!
Bea is still escaping! No!
Bring that pup over to me for a talkin' to.
I love that Basket of Books idea. I think when the Christmas sales are on I'll pick up some for next year. What a really good idea.
Many years ago, my wife and I started a tradition almost identical to the first one you listed. We bought each of the kids a Christmas book and had them unwrap it on Christmas Eve. Then we read them as a family (we picked big picture books with brief stories!) We didn't have the kids randomly pick a book, but chose them on the basis of what they liked. For instance, one of my sons used to be a superhero fan and we actually found a Christmas-themed book one year featuring a superhero family.
We stopped the practice a few years ago when our kids got too "sophisticated" for picture books, though they fondly remember the tradition. They still have their books and every once in a while I'll catch them reading them during the holidays.
Love these ideas. I am so doing the book thing! Babygirl is three and the new one on the way, its a good time to start! We had a you are special plate growing up and it was a great treat. I made one at a paint your own pottery place after babygirl was born. When she's big enough to not throw her plates on the floor I'm sure we will use it!
But I can always do it with grandchildren someday!
my thoughts exactly about the book box.
:)
thanks for sharing these. I sent them on to some new / mothers-to-be so they CAN benefit now :)
Blessings at this busy time of year to you and your family!
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