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Christmas is Saturday! How did this happen?! I remember counting down the days to Christmas as a little girl – they seemed to move in slow motion! Now, time is speeding by faster than ever. We’ve got less than a week to cram in all of our Christmas-y activities!
Does your family have any specific Christmas traditions?
A lot of families have Advent calendars or go together to a candlelight Christmas Eve service at church. Some cozy up for Christmas movie marathons in their matching Christmas pjs, others love to embrace the mess of decorating (and eating!) Christmas cookies. I’d love to hear about your family’s unique way of celebrating.
We had a fair amount of things we’d incorporate each year as a family (seeing the lights at Al Copeland’s house, watching the Heat Miser and Snow Miser sing their pleas to Mrs. Claus, opening one gift before bed on Christmas Eve), and I love them all, but I think my favorite tradition is one we do first thing Christmas morning.
We’ve always started each Christmas (way too early!) in our PJs with hot chocolate (although that’s since been replaced by strong coffee), taking turns reading the Christmas story. Somewhere along the way, this became the book we used each year. We’d pass it around and each family member would take turns reading a page.
When I was really little, just learning to read, this felt like a slow speedbump to getting to the presents (especially as that hot chocolate was kicking in!), but I’m so thankful now for this tradition, as it’s a sweet, simple way to remind us why we are truly celebrating, and that’s the birth of our Savior. I love being able to continue this tradition with my own little boy, too (who is just learning to read and hasn’t quite come to love hot chocolate or strong coffee just yet).
In a year filled with as many challenges as this one, I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate than the hope that was born to save us. I hope you and your family create many happy memories this Christmas, too!