Family Christmas Traditions

I am participating in Family Moment Monday hosted by Motherhood for Dummies.

We have a few, very simple family Christmas traditions.  First, there are the traditional ornaments.  I like to buy Christmas ornaments for my children that signify something special that they like or do.  These ornaments are set aside when we decorate the tree and only that person is to put them up.  It's fun to see them over the years and the kids seem to enjoy them.  Someday they will probably have them on their own tree, I hope.

We keep an empty manger in the middle of our Advent wreath.  Whenever someone does a good deed or makes a sacrifice for someone else they put a straw in the manger.  The goal is to have the manger nice and full by Christmas to keep the Baby Jesus warm.

On Christmas morning we drape streamers across the top of the stairs to remind the kids that they can't go down yet.  Our rule is that you can't go downstairs until you hear the song "Joy to the World."  My husband and I go down first to set things up.  We bring to the top of the stairs all the little Baby Jesus figures for each of the Nativity scenes, the manger in the Advent wreath, the Advent calendar, etc.  Everyone gets to place a Baby Jesus in a manger.

We light all the candles on the Advent Wreath.  We start the music and take pictures as all the kids come down the stairs with big smiles on their faces, each holding a Baby Jesus.

Then as we listen to the remainder of the song, reminding us of the real meaning of Christmas, we stand around the Advent wreath.  When the music stops we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and the kids blow out the Advent candles.

THEN, it's pandemonium.