Here are a few more collections from our Friends...
Snowmen...
Nutcrackers...
Tatted Christmas crafts ...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Collections as traditions...
My cousin, Barbara, has a Santa collection that would rival anything you've seen in a museum. I"m not talking a mantle full of the jolly ol' elf. I'm talking about house full, with every surface imaginable hosting its own special Santa. She is a collector extraordinaire.
I have to say that I LOVE it when I know people collect a certain type of Christmas-themed objects. It makes gift-giving so much easier.
After hearing from many of you, I realize that those of you who are moms and grandmas and aunts are busy building tree ornament collections for the little ones in the family. We are doing the same. Our tree will be virtually bare once everyone gets married and establishes their own family traditions. On the other hand, their trees will be packed, so they will start their families with traditions in place.
Here is a quick tour of our family's ornament tradition...
Our youngest was a Thomas the Tank Engine maniac when he was small. We've decided to keep building that collection in tree ornaments so that he can share it with his children one day.
I have to say that I LOVE it when I know people collect a certain type of Christmas-themed objects. It makes gift-giving so much easier.
After hearing from many of you, I realize that those of you who are moms and grandmas and aunts are busy building tree ornament collections for the little ones in the family. We are doing the same. Our tree will be virtually bare once everyone gets married and establishes their own family traditions. On the other hand, their trees will be packed, so they will start their families with traditions in place.
Here is a quick tour of our family's ornament tradition...
Each child in the family has a
Precious Moments First Christmas ornament hanging on our tree.
Precious Moments First Christmas ornament hanging on our tree.
Our oldest child collects pig Christmas tree ornaments.
Our second child plays football, so each Christmas,
he gets a football ornament.
he gets a football ornament.
Our youngest was a Thomas the Tank Engine maniac when he was small. We've decided to keep building that collection in tree ornaments so that he can share it with his children one day.
We write each child's initials and the year on the ornaments to help everyone remember who got what when.
While decorating the tree is distinctly a family affair, the job of taking it down belongs solely to Mom. So when I start untrimming the tree after January 6th, I take the opportunity to pray for my kids as I carefully pack away their ornaments until next Christmas. I pray for them-- for their relationship with the Lord, for their future spouses and children, for their ministries, for anything that the Lord brings to mind during that time. As only the Lord can do, He takes what I would normally see as drudgery and makes it into a beautiful opportunity to spend time worshipping Him and covering my children in prayer. What a blessing!
While decorating the tree is distinctly a family affair, the job of taking it down belongs solely to Mom. So when I start untrimming the tree after January 6th, I take the opportunity to pray for my kids as I carefully pack away their ornaments until next Christmas. I pray for them-- for their relationship with the Lord, for their future spouses and children, for their ministries, for anything that the Lord brings to mind during that time. As only the Lord can do, He takes what I would normally see as drudgery and makes it into a beautiful opportunity to spend time worshipping Him and covering my children in prayer. What a blessing!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Quick idea...
[There will be a traditions post later tonight, but here's an idea to ponder while you're walking through the stores finishing up your shopping for those difficult-to-buy-for friends and relatives.]
Do you have an old wall frame with a glass front lying around? We had one that once showcased an old movie poster. When our kids outgrew that Disney movie stage, we repurposed the frame for our memory verse center. We painted it black, placed a decorative piece of poster board where the children's print used to be, and hung it on the wall next to our kitchen table.
Now when we eat dinner, we have God's word as a focal point for our conversation. Here is the verse our youngest memorized for school this week:
What a neat way to keep track of your Advent verses too. Write them on the board daily. Or pick just one to focus on for the week. It's another way to remind ourselves Whose season it is!
Or if you're looking for a last minute gift idea for someone, give them a picture frame with a pretty piece of scrapbooking paper where the picture would go. Then type a list of verses that you think would be meaningful to them. Include a dry erase marker and you've given them a special chance to have God's word before them throughout the day.
A couple of things worth noting:
1. The frame needs to have glass in the front, not Plexiglas. Plasticky things will capture your dry erase markings forever. Glass is nonporous and thus, erasable.
2. You can write a verse on the glass before wrapping it, but these are dry erase markers, so it won't likely be as pretty when they open it as it was when you wrote it.
Do you have an old wall frame with a glass front lying around? We had one that once showcased an old movie poster. When our kids outgrew that Disney movie stage, we repurposed the frame for our memory verse center. We painted it black, placed a decorative piece of poster board where the children's print used to be, and hung it on the wall next to our kitchen table.
Now when we eat dinner, we have God's word as a focal point for our conversation. Here is the verse our youngest memorized for school this week:
What a neat way to keep track of your Advent verses too. Write them on the board daily. Or pick just one to focus on for the week. It's another way to remind ourselves Whose season it is!
Or if you're looking for a last minute gift idea for someone, give them a picture frame with a pretty piece of scrapbooking paper where the picture would go. Then type a list of verses that you think would be meaningful to them. Include a dry erase marker and you've given them a special chance to have God's word before them throughout the day.
A couple of things worth noting:
1. The frame needs to have glass in the front, not Plexiglas. Plasticky things will capture your dry erase markings forever. Glass is nonporous and thus, erasable.
2. You can write a verse on the glass before wrapping it, but these are dry erase markers, so it won't likely be as pretty when they open it as it was when you wrote it.
Family Traditions - Part 3 ... by Karen D.
My in-laws host our family every Christmas for lunch. There are certain things that are traditional and make Christmas with them very special. We always have hot apple cider, ambrosia (a recipe passed down from my mother-in-law's mother), electric bells ringing on the front porch when we walk up to the house, and a Christmas pageant starring all the grandchildren. Even though the oldest grandchildren are teenagers and you would expect their enthusiasm to wane, they are eager to participate. They look forward to dressing up, playing their roles, and reading the story of Jesus' birth from Luke.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Family Traditions - Part 2 ... by Karen D.
Another of our family traditions is watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" together. We make it our own by adding homemade hot chocolate and popcorn. Let's not forget pajamas and blankets spread on the floor in front of the TV.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How about luminaries? Our neighborhood does them every year, but according to tradition, only the men in our family set them out and light them. Then as a family, we drive through the neighborhood to "Ooooh" and "Aaaahhh."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have seven children. Christmas morning is a little chaotic with seven children. Years ago, my husband and I decided that we needed a plan to keep the children from running wildly down the stairs and ruining the surprise before we had a chance to yawn, stretch and rise out of the fog of sleepiness. Here is our plan: the children are instructed the night before that they are not to get out of their beds when they wake up. Instead, they can sit up and begin singing a carol of their choice. As others wake, they join in. When we are awake, we call them to our room and all nine of us sit on the bed and listen to Daddy read Jesus' birthday story. This is followed by agonizing stalling techniques by Dad and Mom. We hav eto brush out teech, find out socks, use the bathroom, fuss with our hair, etc. All the while the hcildren are giggling, moaning, and jumping up and down with anticipation.
What are your family traditions? Which new ones are you going to start this year?
What are your family traditions? Which new ones are you going to start this year?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Family Traditions - Part 1 ... by Karen D.
Every year before the Christmas season can truly begin, there is one thing that MUST happen. My mo
m and I share a box of chocolate-covered cherries. We savor the ooey-gooey-ness of them and recognize this as the official start of the merriment. By the way, they must be the kind with the white cream surrounding the cherry, not just the liquid. If you enjoy chocolate-covered cherries the way I do, you will understand the importance of this seemingly small detail
This is a small family tradition we enjoy. It takes almost no time, energy, or money, but it is very important. That's the way traditions work. Sometimes they just happen over time and you never really realize when they sneak up on you and become a part of who you are. Other times traditions must be deliberate and intentional. Allow yourself and your family to be overtaken by those surprise traditions but also be willing to be deliberate about others.
In order to get the creative juices flowing, here are a few of our family traditions. May they be a jumping off place for you. Please inspire us with yours also. If it's too long to post in a comment or you have a picture to go with it, email it to CelebratingChristmas@gmail.com.
I was a teenager helping my mom clean out her closet. I held up a black vest and assumed she was ready to trash it. She refused to throw is out; after all, "It will probably come back in style." In my authentic 1980's lingo, I replied, "Gross me out! This has NEVER been in style, Mom!"
I thought I had seen the last of that hideous black vest with the black-and-tan-checked lining. You can imagine my shock when I opened my first Christmas present of the morning and discovered the black vest neatly folded in the tissue paper. AARGH! We all had a hearty laugh and I quietly tucked the vest away.
Every year the black vest makes an appearance under the Christmas tree. We never know who might open it, but we DO know who has had it. Our tradition is to mark it before passing it to the next victim. Sometimes we add a button, sometimes a pin, simetimes an applique, but always the name and date of the last recipient. We now have a rich history on that black vest. That ugly vest is a beautiful tradition.
m and I share a box of chocolate-covered cherries. We savor the ooey-gooey-ness of them and recognize this as the official start of the merriment. By the way, they must be the kind with the white cream surrounding the cherry, not just the liquid. If you enjoy chocolate-covered cherries the way I do, you will understand the importance of this seemingly small detailThis is a small family tradition we enjoy. It takes almost no time, energy, or money, but it is very important. That's the way traditions work. Sometimes they just happen over time and you never really realize when they sneak up on you and become a part of who you are. Other times traditions must be deliberate and intentional. Allow yourself and your family to be overtaken by those surprise traditions but also be willing to be deliberate about others.
In order to get the creative juices flowing, here are a few of our family traditions. May they be a jumping off place for you. Please inspire us with yours also. If it's too long to post in a comment or you have a picture to go with it, email it to CelebratingChristmas@gmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~The Vest Tradition~
~The Vest Tradition~
I was a teenager helping my mom clean out her closet. I held up a black vest and assumed she was ready to trash it. She refused to throw is out; after all, "It will probably come back in style." In my authentic 1980's lingo, I replied, "Gross me out! This has NEVER been in style, Mom!"
I thought I had seen the last of that hideous black vest with the black-and-tan-checked lining. You can imagine my shock when I opened my first Christmas present of the morning and discovered the black vest neatly folded in the tissue paper. AARGH! We all had a hearty laugh and I quietly tucked the vest away.
Every year the black vest makes an appearance under the Christmas tree. We never know who might open it, but we DO know who has had it. Our tradition is to mark it before passing it to the next victim. Sometimes we add a button, sometimes a pin, simetimes an applique, but always the name and date of the last recipient. We now have a rich history on that black vest. That ugly vest is a beautiful tradition.
Christmas traditions week...
This week we begin sharing our Christmas traditions. Can you believe that Christmas Day is just a little over a week away? How exciting! We are busy making plans for the present-opening and big-meal-eating day when we celebrate Jesus' birth. But let me tell you something, girl to girl. My sweet husband gave me a HUGE word of encouragement. He looked at me yesterday on the way home from church and said, "You know what? This has been the best Christmas I can remember. I really like that we're celebrating a little bit everyday and not just making everything ride on December 25th." Yay!!! God is so good!!!
Doing this blog has been a challenge at times, especially in my personal time management. And then there's the issue of being sincere. I've always heard the expression, "If it don't work at home, don't export it," so my husband's words were like a great big hug from heaven. We struggle y'all. Just like everybody else. So even though the seven-year-old climbs across the back of the sofa and thumps the dog on the head during devotionals, it's good to know that God is still working in spite of our mess.
The other HUGE blessing is hearing from YOU! It seems from the comments posted that everyone loves to hear others share what Jesus has done (and is doing) in their homes and lives. I wanted to take a quick moment and share with you a few more pictures from our Friends who are celebrating Christmas along with us. Here are a few from Karen:
We have many wonderful traditions to share with you in the coming days, but there is still room if you want to send in YOUR family tradition. We'll be posting more frequently in the coming days in order to share all the neat ideas. Jump in and join us!
Check back early Monday afternoon for our kick-off post on traditions.
Doing this blog has been a challenge at times, especially in my personal time management. And then there's the issue of being sincere. I've always heard the expression, "If it don't work at home, don't export it," so my husband's words were like a great big hug from heaven. We struggle y'all. Just like everybody else. So even though the seven-year-old climbs across the back of the sofa and thumps the dog on the head during devotionals, it's good to know that God is still working in spite of our mess.
The other HUGE blessing is hearing from YOU! It seems from the comments posted that everyone loves to hear others share what Jesus has done (and is doing) in their homes and lives. I wanted to take a quick moment and share with you a few more pictures from our Friends who are celebrating Christmas along with us. Here are a few from Karen:
... Advent wreath...
... Jesse tree...
...countdown chain...
Karen has young children who participate in Advent celebrations by tearing off a link in the day each day until Christmas Day. It gives even the small ones a way to "see" how close we're getting to the birthday party.
Karen has young children who participate in Advent celebrations by tearing off a link in the day each day until Christmas Day. It gives even the small ones a way to "see" how close we're getting to the birthday party.
... fur wreath...
No, you didn't miss a post. We didn't actually talk about it on this blog, but Karen found the directions on another blog and made this really cool wreath. If you find directions for cool decorations or homemade gifts, let us know. We'd love to post the link! Or if you have a tutorial you'd like to share, please send it in.
No, you didn't miss a post. We didn't actually talk about it on this blog, but Karen found the directions on another blog and made this really cool wreath. If you find directions for cool decorations or homemade gifts, let us know. We'd love to post the link! Or if you have a tutorial you'd like to share, please send it in.
We have many wonderful traditions to share with you in the coming days, but there is still room if you want to send in YOUR family tradition. We'll be posting more frequently in the coming days in order to share all the neat ideas. Jump in and join us!
Check back early Monday afternoon for our kick-off post on traditions.
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