I am looking for some christmas traditions to start with my family. I have a husband and three children under 9. We dont have much money this year so i am trying to help my family find the true christmas spirit (especially my husband). Does ne one have ne ideas i would truly appreciate it. Thnx so much.
In my area, theres a christmas lights show on one of the parkways and we go there a nd drive by the beautiful scenery.
-
Archives
-
Meta
Make hot chocolate & bundle the kids up in the backseat of the car, then ride around and look at Christmas lights & decorations! I remember doing that when I was little!
References :
In my area, theres a christmas lights show on one of the parkways and we go there a nd drive by the beautiful scenery.
References :
One of my best christmas memories with my family was getting a christmas tree. My dad was a student and my mom was a house wife at the time so we could only afford to buy a miniature tree that we kept on a table. But I remember being so excited to decorate it and they let me pick the spots to put the "special" ornaments. It felt special because we all did it together without the noise of a tv or the outside world. Even now, tree decorating is my favorite part.
Also, just getting together on Christmas eve with my extended family was exciting. My grandma would make my favorite dish, which was lasagna, which doesn’t scream Christmas, but felt special because it’s what I wanted. The gifts I got were modest. Mostly things I needed like clothes or shoes. But I remember one year I really wanted a Barbie, so my dad gave me a piggy bank instead and I saved all year until I could buy the doll for the next Christmas. Maybe it seems silly, but I didn’t feel cheated. Cos I felt like I earned it.
References :
When it comes to Christmas I am still a little kid. I make my hubby go with me to see the lights where ever we can find them. I my kids, now older, still want the chocolate chip cookies. And I still watch the Parade on Christmas day, they all know I get the TV while the foods cooking..LOL.
References :
Christmas lights!!! and Decorating the tree with christmas music on or a christmas movie on I always loved that, You can also make christmas ornaments you can find some easy recipies online, there is a cinnamin and applesauce one that is neat.
References :
http://www.handmadecountry.com/ezine/cinnamon.htmld
you can all wake up on Christmas morning and do a present scavenger hunt and then,all drink hot coco:)
References :
Make it special by making it about spending time together as a family, rather than spending money on the family. Get the board games out, or play charades, invite the family round, (after you’ve had xmas lunch) and sit and watch christmas films together. Rope the children in to make cakes and cookies to give away as christmas gifts, dont waste money buying new decorations, get crafty and make some. Its a great way to get everyone involved.
As for your husband, buy some massage oils and spend some time together, just the two of you. Perhaps the children can go to a relatives house one day over the holidays, so that you and your husband can have a day to yourselves. Cook a nice meal, light some candles, put some music on, and give him a stress-relieving massage. It doesnt have to be erotic or overtly sexual, just an oppotunity to spend time getting to know each other again.
I think it will be difficult for a lot of families this year, so you wont be alone in your struggles.
References :
Looking at all the lights.
Watching all the Christmas movies on TV under a blanket eating popcorn and coca.
Decorating the house- get the kids to draw pictures and stick them up.
Maybe get your husband to dress up as Santa or an Elf?
Singing Christmas carols.
Get Christmas board games and jigsaws.
You don’t need money to be happy- just show that the Spirit is all around!
References :
Have a good time!!
I love putting stuff on the christmas tree. Waking up super early on Christmas day , waking my mom and dad at 5:00 to 6:00 to open presents. And see the look on my familys face when they recice gifts from me. It is the most wonderful time of the year!
I can’t wait.
Have a great Christmas and thanksgiving
References :
Christmas Traditions
By angela adams
Some folks think we are a little on the crazy side but we decorate our house and begin playing Christmas music on November 1st. We make a trip to Walmart and purchase a plastic container the size of a shoe box and fill it with gifts for a specific age and gender of a child. It may be for a girl that is 4 years old, or perhaps a boy that is 15. Each of the children get to choose the age and gender of the child. This is our gift to our children. They fill the box with a variety of toys, school supplies or other such items. We then get them ready to send off to Samaritan’s Purse. This is an aid organization that distributes the shoe boxes or shoe box size containers to children in war torn areas all over the world. One year we got a letter from a little boy in Sarajevo who sent us a picture and told us how he had to crawl along the rows in the garden at night to get food to avoid being shot and had to hide during the day. Samaritan’s Purse usually needs the shoe boxes by the end of November so we don’t have a lot of time to purchase the items and send them off.
We then begin our baking. What does a person give grandparents who have everything? Baking for their guests of course! We bake our traditional Christmas cookies and squares and mail these to the grandparents so they have some Christmas baking to offer their guests.
On December 1, we get our tree and decorate it! Christmas seems too short if we don’t get our tree early. One of our favorite activities is to have a slumber party underneath the Christmas tree once it is all decorated. We haul out our camping mattresses and have a pajamas party under our tree. Somehow falling asleep while enjoying all the lovely Christmas lights is magical. Even our 77 year old auntie insisted on sleeping under the Christmas tree!
A week before Christmas we begin reading out of "Fireside Al". This is a book of the stories that can be heard on the radio on CBC that were read by Al Maitland, prior to Christmas. We have been reading these stories for 20 years and never tire of them. On Christmas eve we always read the story "Hoodoo McFiggins Christmas" and laugh ourselves silly. We have our Christmas dinner on Christmas eve and after our dinner we then sing Christmas carols and read the Biblical account of the Birth of Christ.
Each year the children would receive a unique Christmas decoration as a gift. When they left home they each took with them their box of Christmas decorations they had received over the years. It was particularly delightful to see our daughter and son-in-law’s Christmas tree adorned with all the decorations she had received over the years. Our sons have made sure that they took their decorations with them when they moved out. Even though they no longer live at home it is a tradition we still keep and every year they receive a unique decoration as a Christmas gift.
We come from a large family so we draw names and we each buy for only one person in the family. We limit our gift purchase to a maximum of $50.00. After we have read the Christmas story, Dad reaches under the Christmas tree and starts to hand out the gifts. The grandparents on both sides send us a cheque and we have a family meeting to discuss how we are going to spend the money we receive from them. One year we voted to purchase a dishwasher. Another year we decided to renovate a bathroom. Now that our family is pretty much grown up we wondered if they would want to continue on with the traditions we have practiced throughout the years. When one of our sons returned home from his deployment in the middle east we had a family dinner. All our children with their spouses came and asked if we could draw names for Christmas. Although they wont be here for the reading of the Christmas stories a week prior to Christmas it was heartwarming to know that the traditions we have practiced all these years still have meaning to them.
Each year I write a letter to each of my children, seal it in an envelope and place it on the Christmas tree. It is a personal letter to them highlighting the things I appreciate most about them, their gifts and the things that I see in their character that makes this world a better place. As a mother I often wondered if they letters I wrote over the years held any meaning for them, as none of them actually commented on them. Then as my sons were preparing to move away from home I noticed the letters carefully placed among their most treasured possessions. As adults they shared with me how over the years during times of doubt, sadness or just plain feeling blue, they would read the letters they received at Christmas. It was one of the most meaningful gifts they ever received. I mentioned last year that perhaps I wouldn’t write the letters anymore for those who have left home. There was such an outcry that I realized how much they looked forward to the Christmas letter from mom. So I will continue to write the letters
References :