Do any of us ever really outgrow the little child inside who looks at Christmas with wonder? NO!
To a child and to most of us the season is so magical. It is the innocence of children and how they look at Christmas that makes this holiday so so fun! In recent years, when Todd and I have created our own family traditions with Stella and now Jonah, I have been reminded about how much I loved Christmas growing up and how some of those wonderful memories influence the new traditions we have now started with our family.
Of course you must remember that Christmas is so much more than presents, decorations, marketing and commercialization that society tries to cash in on. It's about the most precious gift that Mary gave us, the birth of our Savior. Society sometimes overshadows the meaning of Christmas. In fact it's gotten so bad, you can't sing Christmas carols that include Jesus Christ's name in the secular arena (apparently it's not politically correct). We don't want to offend anybody (even though America was founded on the Judeo-Christian ethic). This year Obama even referred to a Christmas tree as a "holiday tree" yet he still called a menorah a menorah and not a candlestick holder. Bottom line, it all about remembering that HE is the reason for the season!
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| Stella and I making caramel pretzel treats! |
We really enjoyed getting ready for the holidays this year! Stella helped me decorate around the house, reminded me that we needed to purchase a stocking for Jonah ("so that Santa will know where to deliver his presents'), helped me wrap presents (the ones that weren't her's of course) and even helped me make some Christmas goodies.Stella enjoys arts and crafts projects to I bought her a few kits to keep her busy!
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| Stella painting ornaments |
On Christmas Eve, we headed to Mamooses (Todd's maternal grandmother) house. On this evening we celebrate with Todd's moms side of the family. If you know anything about Mamoose you know that she is one hell of a cook and always has quite a spread of food with all of the fixings! She also loves Christmas and loves to begin shopping for it as early as August or September. Each year we have an Annual Mamoose Shopping Extravaganza (Sandy coined and named this annual event). All of us meet her at Macy's and pick out our presents and she treats us to lunch. These shopping events last several hours and usually all of us are totally pooped afterward and Mamoose like the Energizer Bunny could keep going!
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| Stella and Mamoose! |
This year was Jonah's first Christmas Eve at Mamoose's. He seemed to enjoy himself and both he and Stella were quite spoiled!
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| Jonah taking it all in. |
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| Jonah and Aunt Sandy |
One of my favorite traditions that my parents began when my sister and I were children and we have continued with Stella and Jonah is when Santa's Elves deliver us Christmas pj's on Christmas Eve. This year, just like every year, the elves vigorously ring the doorbell and leave brand new Christmas pj's for each of us. Those elves are extremely generous! After we put on our Christmas pj's, we went out into the front yard and sprinkled reindeer food (some concoction of glitter and crushed corn flakes) all over the front yard for the reindeer's so they could find our house. Finally it was time to leave out Santa's milk and cookies and head up to bed!
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| Pj's from the elves. |
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| Sprinkling reindeer food outside. |
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| Cookies and milk for Santa! |
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"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
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