Most of our Christmas traditions are intertwined with our dinner meal.
We light our advent candle at night and read from this devotional.
I must say that reading at dinner is hard. It is hard with just one baby. I don't really soak in what we read most nights. As our children grow, our conversations will deepen. It has to smart small. The most important thing is that we are making it a priority. Hudson sees us reading and praying and that is important! We are learning.
Our Jesse Tree is beside the advent candle. There are tons of devotionals to do with this tree, and we may start that as our children grow. For now, it is simply something we talk about during dinner. It is more for children, but we wanted to do it now simply because we know if we don't start it we never will, ya know?
In the mornings, Hudson and I usually open a door from our Advent calendar. We purchased this one at Target, and I hope it lasts for years. Hudson loves opening the doors.
Inside, is a little piece of paper with something to read and something to do. I don't stress myself out if we can't do it. I wrote these when Hudson was tiny, and I will change them to fit with the needs of our family.
I also found this wooden manger scene at a thrift store. It lives on our coffee table during December, and it mainly for Hudson to play with and slowly learn from it.
Above all, we simply want Christmas to be about Christ. Yeah, we have some Santa's on our tree, and we will "pretend" Santa is coming. I say "pretend" because Hudson will know that Santa is not real. I know some parents gasp at that, but this is a decision we made. We don't want to deceive him, and in any way hinder him understanding that Jesus is real. That being said, I don't criticize parents that do tell their children Santa is real. I think there is so much criticism that comes with parenting, and it is pointless!
I am always open to new ideas and twists on the traditions we have. I would love to hear some of yours too!
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