Tis The Season

It's that time of year!

I have had 3 people in the last week ask me about our Christmas traditions. Some are our own, some my parents did with us growing up, some are fabulous ideas I learned from other people.

It got me thinking though, how fun would it be to find out about everyone's holiday customs.

Whether you have no kids, little kids, older kids, empty nesters or live alone...

share them with us.

Email me your wonderful traditions and I will choose (at random) one lucky writer to win a fabulous gift card to...

**drum roll**

Not this one...

That's right, THIS ONE!! (YUMM!!)

Salivating yet??

Ok, email me those traditions

itsthemotherload@gmail.com

I'll post them here then announce the winner on Dec 24th!

And a Happy Christmas it WILL be!!

Deadline for entries is Dec 23rd.

One entry per email address please.

Now, for my family's Christmas traditions.

First, decorating the tree is a family event. We turn on Christmas music and we hand out the decorations, one at a time, to the kids and let them hang them where they wish (parents filling in spaces as needed). Each year a we rotate between which child gets to hang the star on the tree when the decorating is complete, they love that.

For Christmas Eve, we have a yummy dinner of appetizer type food... crackers, meats, cheeses, dips, fruits, veggie platters, sweet and sour meatballs, yummy *virgin champagne, not to mention tons of homemade cookies, divinity, fudge...etc.

After the grazing is done, we let the kids open one present (their holiday pajamas), which they put on right away. Then we read "The Littlest Angel" by Charles Tazwell, then the birth of Christ from the book of Luke in the Bible, then kneel down in a circle and say family prayer together. After that we read/recite/yell (hence why we do it after we've said family prayer) all together

" 'Twas The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clark Moore

Then we all pile in the car and drive around the neighborhood looking at all the fancy shmancy decorations and lights on the houses, while blasting Christmas music.

In the morning, after everyone is finally awake (mostly by insistence instead of by their own will) we all gather in Mom and Dad's bedroom. We say family prayer together, then run down stairs (daddy of course got up before everyone and turned on the lights and mommy put the **monkey bread on timer the night before to be done exactly 1 hour later).

We then all get our stockings and empty them, seeing what goodies Santa left for us. Then when that's over, Daddy hands out, one at a time, the presents from Santa under the tree. This part I really like. My Dad did it with us growing up. Not only do you get the excitement of your own presents, but you get the excitement of seeing what your brothers and sisters and parents got, and the looks on their faces. Instead of everyone tearing into them and not being able to see anything under the flurry of wrapping paper, tape and curly ribbon.

After Santa presents, we do gifts from Mom and Dad (their one BIG present for that year...like I'm going to let Santa get credit for Guitar Hero)!

Then we eat breakfast together, play all day mostly in our pj's, have a yummy fancy dinner that night, then open gifts from extended family, then dessert, then pass out in bed.

That's our fabulous family tradition. What's yours?

*Virgin Champagne

1 part white grape juice

1 part apple juice

1 part Ginger Ale

= Yumm!

** -My recipe is a little different from this one. Ok...VERY different, but you get the idea. If you would like my scrumptious

make-the-night-before-then-next-time-you-see-it-EAT monkey bread,

or caramel pecan rolls as I call them, then just ask, I'm happy to share. So easy, and so yummy!