Teresa Carlson spoke on Christmas traditions. We'd like to thank her for her talk. Listed below are some of the things she shared.
on traditions themselves:
*most of us have Christmas traditions, whether we realize it or not (i.e. when to open gifts, when to eat dinner, where we travel in the car)
*instill traditions at a young age to make them stick
*don't give your kids everything they want for Christmas, make due when you need to
examples of traditions:
*leave gifts from Santa unwrapped
*fill Christmas sacks with goodies and peanuts
*ask family members what their favorite baked item is and bake those items
*make homemade gifts: baked goods and jars with layers (soup and cookie mixes), coupon books for hugs, chores, etc.
*bake a birthday cake for Jesus
*give charitable donations
*if you have a really big family, go in together on hiring a Santa and take pics; save pics and compare them from year to year to see how your family has changed
*attend Christmas church services
*decorate with Christmas music playing in background
*names on stockings
*blast Christmas music on December mornings to wake up kids
*serve eggnog in special glasses
*put mini Christmas trees in kids' rooms and let them decorate with own decorations; photograph decorated trees and show in later years
*read Christmas themed books about candy canes and gingerbread and make/eat these items
*keep cup of candy canes out for visitors
*videotape kids' Christmas programs and play movies when kids are older
*take a name off the angel tree at the mall and buy a gift for someone less fortunate
*carol at a nursing home
*read Christmas story from Bible or from an age-appropriate Bible story book
*go to a movie with your older kids
*set up nativity scene minus Jesus; hide Jesus and have child who finds Jesus put Him in manger
*Marilyn mentioned that Dec. 6th is St. Nick's Day; set out kids' shoes and put candy or ornaments in them
*delve into the legends of the candy cane, stars on top of trees, bells
*do an advent calendar and/or light candles on advent wreath
*hang ornaments in memory of a loved one who has passed away; as you hang the ornament, share stories about that person
*C.O.W. Project (Change Our World): in lieu of gifts for adults, do a charitable project and share what you did as you gather with your family during the time you'd normally exchange gifts; examples of projects would be: pay for the person behind you in line at a business, give Christmas gifts to military families, give someone a ride, fill a baby bathtub with baby stuff and drop it off at hospital OB ward, invite a struggling family to your home and serve them a fancy dinner
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