Christmas Traditions Tag

Christmas Traditions I grew up with...

We always had homemade candy. Grandma Danes made the best Divinity, Boston Creams, Toffee, Fudge and Pinoche. She would make it early in the month and freeze it....I always thought frozen candy tasted great:)

Real Christmas tree and the larger lights...colored, not white. Grandpa Danes made sure the tree was up and the lights on, then all the kids woulds hang ornaments on the tree. We always hung tinsel and G'pa was very particular about it going on the tree one strand at a time. It was beautiful and glittery.

At some point during the Christmas season G'ma always read to us "The Gift Of The Magi". It has remained a favorite of mine through the years.

Christmas caroling...all of us kids would go out singing to all our nieghbors. I don't remember G'ma and G'pa going with us much. Sometimes we had extra neighbor kids that went as well.

Drawing names and Christmas shopping for each other. In a large family it was kind of intimidating to buy for everyone.....I don't know that we could have afforded that anyway. But we still enjoyed exchanging gifts.

Christmas Eve, reading the Christmas story from the Bible, sometimes acting it out.

Traditions with our children....

Definitly carried on the christmas treats, but had more cookies than candy. I still do G'ma Danes' Toffee and have tried the Boston Creams a time or two, but I was never much good at the Pinoch and definitly not the divinity. I picked up a No fail Fudge recipe somewhere along the line that I use and have shared.

Aunt Annette sent us a Christmas Advent Story Book one Christmas and our children all loved it! We have read from it every year, sometimes by the light of the tree, sometimes by candle light, but all the stories were loved, and we have added to them till we could read more each night.

Aunt Kathy got us started on Gingerbread houses and we love that tradition also. Isn't sharing fun? We have shared gingerbread houses with so many families!

Caroling on Christmas Eve, this was usually done to manage all the enthusiasm, the kids had SO much energy! Bill would take his guitar and play, as the kids got older we all sang in harmony and had our own little choir.

Opening Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve. Most of these were homemade, but I eventually succumbed to the ease of purchasing next year's PJ's at the post Christmas sales...Yeah sales!

Pictures by the tree before and after opening PJ's

Almond Danish Puff for Christmas breakfast, that later turned into cold cereal or pop tarts but the Amond Danish tradition has once again emerged...Thanks to Calista reviving it when her family lived with us in Kuna.

Yearly ornaments for each of the kids. Sometimes we made them, sometimes they were bought, sometmes they were made by one of my sisters or brothers and given to us for Christmas. Each one a memory we could talk about as we decorated the tree...

Christmas Tradions for the futre??? Who knows, but I will treasure all these traditions and memories:)