I love the holiday season and all of the fun family Christmas traditions that go along with it. I have such fond memories growing up and playing cards at my grandparent’s house. We would snuggle in her warm house while the snow was flying and grab something yummy to eat and play card games. I think about how blessed I am to have had those times and memories. Since being married I have taken on some familiar traditions and added some new ones. I think traditions bind us together. The memories stay with us year after year even when we are not able to be together. It is one of those things that brings us joy around the holidays. This is why I wanted to dedicate this blog post to family traditions.
The infamous 1000 PIECE PUZZLE! When I was a kid my grandma had one sitting out for the month of December and whenever we were over we would work on it. It was a fun pastime while watching Christmas movies. However I think I just love the nostalgia and not the work of “doing” the puzzle. One year my kids and friends in the neighborhood all came together to put the 1000 Piece puzzle together and in the end there were MANY pieces missing! Ugh! What a disappointment it was! I laugh now but the kids were so bummed.
Making gingerbread houses is a tradition that I started when my kids were young. I have to say there is a learning curve to it! The first time I started it I had powdered sugar all over the kitchen. I had the hardest time with two toddlers keeping the gingerbread house from falling down and the frosting consistency perfect. Thank God there is Google! I did learn a great trick along the way. Use a hot glue gun to put the house together and then only use the frosting to decorate. It makes things so much easier! One year we had the gingerbread house too low to the ground on a table and our golden retriever ate half of it! It is funny to reminisce about our botched houses and the enormous messes we have made.
My family also enjoys several other traditions such as playing board games, cards, baking and watching Christmas movies. Some of my favorites movies are White Christmas and Elf. I could watch them over and over again. I am guessing you have a few favorites too. Of course there are other things we love to do but sometimes we don’t have the time. We used to go to a near by farm and cut down a tree and we also enjoy checking out the lights around town. It used to be so magical when the kids were younger. I hope some day when they are older they reflect back with fondness to the traditions we did as a family, and I hope they carry some of them on too! I would love to hear about your family traditions and fun things you have done with your family. It is so enjoyable making memories with the most important people in our lives. Looking forward to reading about your family Christmas traditions!
