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Monday, November 22, 2010

Our Family's Special Christmas Tradition!

I love Christmas! I love everything about it!! I think I am a big kid at heart. I just get so excited about the whole process. I love Christmas songs and, oh,oh, oh those Christmas lights that totally takes me back to childhood.(It doesn’t take much to do that!) I just love it all!!! My list could go on and on.

As all families do, we started certain traditions early in our marriage and especially after we had our three sons.

One tradition is that each one of our sons get a certain type of ornament from their two Mima’s (that is what they call their Grandmothers.)

Son #1 gets: Soldiers and Dogs     
    Son#2 gets: Bears and Rocking Horses
Son#3 gets: Santa Claus’ and Trains

Christmas mantle 2008 008 (800x600)
In addition to those ornaments, I also give them one. So every year of their life they have received a minimum of three ornaments.

My oldest is 37, middle son is 35, youngest son is 32. You do the math. Oh, and I forgot my husband and I also get ornaments as gifts. So we literally could have at least a dozen new ornaments for the last 37 years. Whew!! That is a lot of ornaments.

Our tree is covered. In fact you can barely see the tree. It might seem over the top to most, but to our family it is full of sweet memories.



Christmas kitchen 2008 004


Christmas Tree 2008 040


Christmas Tree 2008 037

Our tree holds special ornaments:

Made by special little hands.
First pair of baby shoes.
Soccer and baseball buttons.
First pair of glasses.
Two ornaments from my parents and my husband’s parents very first Christmas tree over 61 years old.

You can tell that ornaments are very special in our family. When my boys were young they would run home from the bus stop after school to see if their Mima’s had delivered their special ornament for that year.

The two oldest boys are married now so on their first Christmas as a married couple, they were handed their box of ornaments. Needless to say, I cried! I am so blessed with two DIL’s that treasure the ornaments as much as their husbands and I do.

So now the tradition is being carried on and my three grandchildren get their own special ornaments from me and from their great grandmothers and their own parents. Now my son’s family trees are beginning to be full of special memorie's too.

I hope you have enjoyed just a glimpse into one of the special traditions we have in our family.

“Enjoy the Process” Of:

Making your own special Christmas tradition with your own family.

Kathysue

Holiday Hint:

Look back at your childhood memories to find something that you can use to start your own family traditions.

Here is a little book with ideas on Christmas traditions to help you out. It would also make a great gift or Stocking stuffer.