Christmas: Traditions Old & New
Putting on silly hats? Going away? Having a neighbourhood party? We all have our own Christmas traditions, whether they be personal or with family. Now that I am approaching my first Christmas with Alyssa, it made me stop and think about what Christmas traditions we have in our family and which ones I will pass on to her...
1. Decoration - each year I go with my mum (usually to a garden centre) and choose a brand new singular decoration for the tree. Blush pink seems to be "in" this year, so I chose a pair of blush pink glittery ballet shoes on a ribbon and Alyssa has a silver glitter bauble with blush pink glitter lettering spelling "Baby Girl!"
2. Decorating the Tree - When decorating the tree, no matter what the date, we have to be playing Christmas music in the background that we can sing along to.
3. Advent Calendars - I have had one every year for as long as I can remember and this year is no different. I have been given a Frozen (yes yes I know, but I loooovvveeee Frozen and Idina Menzel... total idol of mine) and Alyssa has a White Milk Button one.
4. Shopping - I have to do, at least, one Christmas Shopping trip with my mum in December when the shops have decorations and the music is playing.
5. Santa - Although Alyssa is a bit young this year, I can't wait to start the tradition of taking her to see Santa Claus and writing a letter to send to the North Pole. I did actually start it off this year by organising a "Baby's First Christmas" letter from Santa to Alyssa, which I read out to her and will go in her memory box.
6. Food - Every year, usually at 2/3am my mum and I go to the big supermarket in the week running up to Christmas and buy all the food needed for over the holiday season. This will have to be adapted slightly this year, as I don't think Alyssa will appreciate being woken up at 1am to go to Tescos!!
7. Christmas Eve Day - My sister, her partner and my nephew all arrive for their Christmas stay and we get underway with all we have to do. It tends to be that the blokes (and I include Rowan in this) go on some sort of gaming device that involves all of them making a lot of noise and trying to beat each other. The girls end up in the kitchen prepping everything for that night and the following day - we do occasionally manage to get the guys to peel a veg or two!
8. Christmas Eve Dinner - We all get dressed up (Alyssa will be included as she has several amazing outfits to wear) and sit down to a big dinner together which is always... Mexican! Random I know, we tried to do something different one year and it crashed and burned so sticking with tradition we have a massive Mexican Feast.
9. Good Night - Alyssa and I already read books together and I am looking forward to reading her the baby version of "A night before Christmas" like my mum used to do with us. We will also be hanging out a stocking and leaving something for Santa as I think we have managed to keep a small amount of belief in my nephew for this year and soon Alyssa will take on that magical belief too.
10. Stockings - We all climb into 1 bed (bit of a struggle but get there with people draping on the floor and arm chair too, and open our stockings in age order from youngest to oldest in our pyjamas.
11. Breakfast - Sticking with tradition, every year we have hot croissants with jams, juice and coffee for breakfast. We are still in our pyjamas as we don't get dressed until after presents - mainly because you might get something new you want to wear!!
12. Black Bags - Weird as it may sound, we have a tradition that just before we give out presents (one person plays Santa) we all get given a black bin bag so that we can store our gifts in there once opened and that way we make sure we don't lose any in wrapping paper (which also has it's own bin bag or 5) and they are also then ready to be taken to appropriate rooms of the house post unwrapping.
13. Christmas Lunch - Now we vary this each in year, in regards to watch vegetables we have, but that's where variety ends I am afraid. Each year, we have to have my mum's amazing Vegetable Nut Loaf with Mushroom gravy - literally I wait all year for this. We also have to have Redwood Veggie Joints and Sausages wrapped in Bacon. The best dinner ever which, along with the mexican from Christmas Eve, we end up eating for a few days.
14. Board Games - At some point over the festive period, we do all try and sit down and play boards games together, though obviously one of us at any given time could be playing one of my nephews neverending stream of them too.
15. Pantomime - I can still remember my first pantomime, Peter Pan, and my mum says she can still remember the look on my face when all the fairies appeared dancing round the room and I can remember that too and maintain to this day that I do believe in Fairies. I cannot wait until Alyssa is old enough to enjoy her first pantomime...a magical experience.
Christmas is an amazing time of year and traditions help keep it that way... we keep old ones and make new ones all the time at every event in our lives. I don't think it matters how big or small your Christmas is, as long as you can have a smile on your face and be with the one's you love.
