Daily December 12: A gift for Him

What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb

If I were a wise man I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?  Give my heart.

by Christina Rossetti

One of the things we do in December to help our family remember the Savior is fill His manger.  What gift can we give Him?  We can do kind deeds for others.  I make a paper "manger" out of card stock and cut some small pieces of yarn.  We place this by the Christmas tree.  Each time the kids, Ben, or I do a secret act of service or kindness for anyone, we get to put one piece of yarn or "straw" in the manger. 

 Our goal is on Christmas Day the baby Jesus will have a soft bed to lay in.  Our secret acts of service and kindness are a gift we can give to Him.

Daily December 10: Christmas pillowcases and poem

Christmas pillowcases have been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember.  Every December 1st growing up we would get a package from my DeeDee (Grandma) and in it there would be Christmas cookies, a new Christmas pillowcase she had made for each of us, and this poem. . .

December the first starts a magical time,
With all sorts of color, rhythm and rhyme.
Sugar plum fairies will dance in your head
If you'll put this pillowcase on your bed.
The reason it's special, as you will soon see,
Is that it's been dusted with Christmas fantasy.
Visions of candy canes, Santa, and such
Will fill each dream with pleasure so much,
That when it comes the time for it to be washed,
Do it quickly so no magic is lost.

So I grew up getting these awesome pillowcases, and then my DeeDee has made them for my kids since they were little, and then I have been passing the tradition along to Ben's brothers and sisters and their families.  I realize the poem says "the first," but you can change that to any date "the tenth," "the twentieth" etc.  Get some dusted Christmas fantasy in your house! :)

Daily December 5: Sinterklass Eve

I am a huge Family Fun magazine fan.  I have been a subscriber almost since the first issue, and about 8 years ago (I think?) I saw this idea for The Christmas Chain in their "Idea of the Month" article.  It is a Christmas countdown chain, but on each link is a different activity that you do that day.  For example:  go look at Christmas lights, sing carols, make a Christmas card for a friend, visit and sing at a nursing home, make gingerbread cookies, etc.  I try to do a mix of fun, service, and ideas that remind us of the real meaning of Christmas.  Today's link says "Sinterklass Eve," and my kids jump for joy because they love this one.  We do it every year.  Sinterklass Day is a Dutch Christmas tradition, and it is celebrated on December 6th.  On the eve before under a winter star lite sky, it is tradition to deliver chocolates anonymously to your friends.  Ring the doorbell and run or "door bell ditching" fun here that my kids love.  We make up about 6 bags of chocolate, and then each family member gets to decide who to take their bag too.  I just usually buy a few bags of Hershey's kisses, and we put them in cellophane bags with a ribbon and tag that says "Happy Sinterklass Eve!  Sinterklass Day is a Dutch tradition celebrated on Dec 6th.  On the eve before it is tradition to deliver chocolates to your friends anonymously.  Enjoy!"  The kids love delivering their bags, ringing the door bell, and then sprinting back to the car and speeding off (hopefully) before the door is answered.  A fun, very well-loved tradition at our house.  Try it at yours this year. 

Traditions

December is a busy month--yes I know, probably the understatement of the decade, but very true. Traditions are a major part of our December and Christmas celebration. They are the things the kids all look forward to each year, and they remind us if we aren't doing them right or if we forget something. Good thing we have them to remind us of things. Lots of pictures to share some of our traditions, and just some different activities from this busy month. Hope yours is going well. We have a birthday tomorrow. My oldest Miss A will be 12! When did that happen? How did she get that old? Oh, my, I can't be getting old yet. . .

Mr J is the shepard in the pink robe and blue headdress. Can you tell his sisters helped him get ready? Miss A is the shepard standing (the tallest one :) We have the tradition of doing the Nativity play at our Church Christmas party.
Miss E is Mary. Mr J the pink shepard, and Miss A the tallest one thinking "I am almost 12 why do I have to be up here with all these little kids????"

Miss O as a wise woman with 2 other wise men bearing their gifts

Mary and Joseph

That's my monkey man. . . :)

Miss A at her middle school Christmas Choir concert. They did an awesome job, and this was the first year we had 2 different Christmas programs with kids in 2 different schools.

We have the tradition that the weekend before Christmas we head to the city--no shopping, just having fun, seeing the lights, going to the museums, and swimming at the indoor pool at the hotel. Fun stuff! And the kids reminded us we had to get a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts as part of our tradition. We didn't argue too much. They had an amazing train display at Union Station with hundreds of little trains which we spent a lot of time watching.

Miss E and Mr J digging up dinosaur bones at the museum.

We have the tradition of eating at the "Train restaurant" or Fritz's where you order your food by phone at your booth, and then trains carry the orders along the top of the wall and when yours comes it slides down on a lift type thing. Very scientific explanation, I know, you have to see it to get it. It is just an awesome kid loving fun place to eat for train lovers, which we happen to have in our family.

Mr J watches the train drop off our order and sees it lower down to our table. He LOVES that place!

Our family enjoying the lights.

Of course, if there is a train anywhere in sight, we have to go see it.

The kids made puzzles at Hallmark's Kaleidoscope. That place is just awesome. Like walking into a Dr. Seuss book. Love it!

Mr J and Miss A make their puzzles.

We wore them out! On the way home from the weekend in the city. The city proves too much for the country kids. . . .

Our cousins are here for Christmas!!! My sister, her husband, and boys are home for the holidays. She has 2 adorable boys. Miss O and Miss A love their little cousin!

Making gingerbread houses has been a tradition in my family since I was a kid. My mom is amazing at making them. My sister and her family were very excited that Nana had gingerbread houses ready for us to do this week. Mr J and his cousin decorated a house together. They were so cute! They did a good job.

Ben helps Miss A do her house. Those are wheat chex on the roof with a candy cane heart in the middle.

Miss E shows off her house she did with Nana and her little cousin.

Mr J and the house he did with his cousin. Lots of candy there. We left the house at Nana's for the cousins to enjoy, and Mr J got into the car, and said, "Where is my gingerbread house? I want to eat it!" Oh, major stomach ache!

Miss O and her house. Love the red gum on the roof.

Miss A and her house. That is gum and red licorice strips on the front. Hope you all are enjoying traditions at your homes, or starting some new ones. They are one sweet thing in life!