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Decor
Let's admit it - decorating is a BIG part of any Christmas celebration! Christmas trees, garland, and lights - it all comes together to make our home feel like Christmastime!
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| Our felt tree |
My absolute favorite Christmas idea I got from Pinterest (which is probably where I got the idea, but I'm not sure) is this felt tree that we hang in the hallway. I made it the year my son was about 18 months and he LOVED decorating it over and over again. At 5 and 8 years old, our kids still get excited to see the felt tree come out. I bought felt and cut and glued ornaments and presents, but you can get a premade one that probably would cost less than buying felt! (I may buy the snowman one for after Christmas!)
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| Decorating his own tree |
Another tradition we have is that the kids each have a small tree in their room that they get to decorate. This somewhat keeps them from messing with the "grown-up tree" If you are looking for a great option, this tree comes with lights, ornaments, and tree topper and it's small enough to fit in just about any space!
Lights
Going to see lights at Christmas is a must-do for us! One year we drove to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, to see Fantasy in Lights. It was beautiful, We were also fortunate to take our kids to the final lighting of the Osbourne family lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios. But most years we look for free lights closer to home. Many downtown areas or businesses have light displays. Additionally, there are always private homes that go above and beyond and love to have people visit to see their lights. Ask your friends or facebook community to see where to go! |
| Downtown Lights |
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| Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens |
Nativity
The BEST Christmas item we have in our home is The Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set. (If your kids are sticklers for accuracy like ours are, you may need this larger set that also comes with a shepherd!) Our kids have spent HOURS playing with this set. Every year it is their favorite thing to come out of Christmas storage - for days before we get out our decorations, our daughter asks for the "baby Jesus toys."
Hanukkah
We celebrate Hanukkah and many of the traditions that are a part of the Festival of Light. We light the menorah, we read the blessings and the story of the Maccabees, and we play the dreidel. We honor and appreciate the Hebraic roots of our Christian faith. It's one more way we can bring tradition into our home and the kids love it. |
| Dreidel!!! |
Cookies
We are blessed to live where our kids are growing up with their grandparents close at hand. One of the traditions we have at Christmas is actually a grandparent tradition. The kids always make cookies with my parents. It's a great family tradition that all look forward to! |
| Making cookies with Grandpa |
Christmas Movies
We love Christmas specials and movies and make them a part of our schedules each holiday season. |
| One year we watched Charlie Brown Christmas in several languages! :) |
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- The Year Without a Santa Claus
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Elf
- Home Alone
- White Christmas
St. Nicholas / Santa Claus
You can't escape Santa Claus during the holiday season. Whether you build up the idea of Santa with your kids, or not, it is hard to ignore as it is everywhere you look and in every Christmas special.
We do not tell our kids that Santa brings our presents, but we talk about how the myth of Santa Claus is based on an actual person - St. Nicholas. We talk about who he was, what he did, and we go visit "Santa Claus" on St. Nicholas Day (December 6th)
Christmas breakfast
We stay at home for Christmas Day, and we always have a big Christmas breakfast (cooked by the hubby, NOT by me!) :) It has become a tradition that the kids look forward to - seeing the table set when they wake up to the smell of bacon!
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| Strawberry/banana candy canes |
Disneyworld
While we've been blessed to go to Disneyworld several years at Christmastime, this isn't an every-year tradition for us. However, Christmastime is one of our FAVORITE times to go to Disney! The decorations are phenomenal, and we have several Christmas traditions when we are there!
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| Seeing Cinderella's Castle "Frozen" by Elsa is a must! |
Each Disney resort has it's own tree and Christmas decor. It's worth doing some resort hopping or making a dining reservation at a resort to see them decorated for the holiday! The Beach Club has this carousel made out of chocolate and the Grand Floridian Resort has a huge Gingerbread House! The artistry is just amazing!
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| Disney's Beach Club |
The International Festival of the Holidays at Epcot is our favorite festival! Each country in the World Showcase shares something of their country's holiday celebrations. At the Mexico pavilion, they celebrate Las Posadas and the children can participate in the procession and dance. It is one of our kids' favorites!
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| Las Posadas at the Mexican Pavilion, Epcot |
Another festival favorite is Father Christmas in the UK Pavilion. He rings the bell and tells of the traditions in the United Kingdom.
Christmastide and Three Kings Day
By far my favorite tradition of Christmas is celebrating the entire Christmas season. Did you know that the 12 Days of Christmas actually START on Christmas Day? All the days up to Christmas Day are actually the season of Advent. Then the 12 days between Christmas and Three Kings Day (Epiphany) are the actual Christmas season.
For many people, there is the hustle and bustle of the days leading up to Christmas Day and then BOOM! By Christmas night, it's all over. But for us, that is just the beginning, then we enjoy the next few days of quiet and calm. We don't consider it to be over, and we don't take down our decorations. We can actually ENJOY them. We "celebrate" Christmas from Christmas Eve /"Nochebuena" through the 6th of January, when we celebrate Three Kings Day. We celebrate this as a part of our culture as a Puerto Rican family. Now, whether you celebrate Three Kings Day or not, you can certainly extend the holiday season in your home. Did you want to decorate cookies or do some kind of holiday activity with your kids and didn't have time before Christmas? Do it after Christmas day! Because it's still Christmas! :)
This has been the single most freeing tradition in our home. The additional days to celebrate in our own way has been amazing. Even if you just continue your Christmas celebrations through New Year's Day, I think you will find so much more room to breathe and enjoy the entire season.
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