Christmas 2010 was a great Christmas. Having barely moved back into our house meant that we didn't even get a tree up until 3 days before. Needless to say, I am still enjoying the tree and have no intention of removing it any time soon! It's a pretty little douglas fir ("Doug. Uh... Doug Fir-wood.") that fits beautifully into our great room. I'm not a bit tired of it yet.
the day or 2 before Christmas
The same goes for the other decorations. I'm still loving them and just don't feel ready to be done with them for another year!
I think we found a good balance of simplifying (which we had to do!) and pulling off many of the traditions I hear my children talking about before they've even been mentioned by Daniel or I. I know Christmas isn't about the traditions-- and therefore there really is no real loss when we have to go without-- but I also love the way traditions help us mark, notice, commemorate, and feel the things that are important, don't you?
1. Christmas Eve dinner here.
there were 24 of us in all, all comfortably accommodated in the dining room & great room
2. The Candlelight Service at church. Daniel was a true sport and juggled all 5 kids so I could sing in the choir. Gabriel and Bronwyn were readers in the children's reading of Luke 2. It was a really, really, really special service and perhaps the tradition that I would be saddest about having to go without-- thankfully, I haven't had to most years!
the kids beforehand
our whole family after
3. Stockings. Especially at this age. I love watching kids get excited about Strawberry Shortcake bandaids, new child-sized silverware, toothbrushes, socks, hair barrettes, and lip balm. Does it get any simpler and yet more enjoyable than that???!!!
4. Gift-giving.
the tree Christmas morning, boasting all the newly discovered goodies
Christmas 2010 may go down in the book as one of the most condensed and yet somehow most special and wonderfully memorable of them all.
Or maybe I just say that every year!
Merry Christmas Paladin family!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a terrific way to end the year!
ReplyDeleteHey, the 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day. According to my mother, the old German tradition was to put the Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve. It would be a surprise after dinner for the children who had been carefully kept out of the room where it was set up and decorated. I once read the story of a woman who took pride in having her tree down and out to the curb by nightfall on Christmas Day - I find that really sad.
ReplyDelete