Christmas Traditions

I’m writing this a couple days early for Kelly’s Korner. I love this time of year, everything about it just warms my heart.

Growing up we had traditions…when I was younger Christmas Eve was always Christmas with my Dad’s side of the family, then we’d go home, leave cookies & milk for Santa, and go to bed. We’d wake up Christmas morning and couldn’t go into the living room until my parents had the video camera set up….because Santa didn’t wrap our gifts. He would leave what seemed like massive piles, one for me and one for my brother. We would then open gifts from my parents, etc. Those memories are so sweet to me that Santa will never wrap our kids gifts. Too much work to do on Christmas Eve anyways….and I wouldn’t want to wrap them before and leave them under the tree saying FROM SANTA…

When I was in high school we started a new tradition by going to my Aunt Judy’s house on Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve service. We would play games, eat snack food, and just visit. We still do that and I love that. It’s a very low-key night, which is needed by that point.

My Dad owns a jewelry store. This is his REALLY busy time of the year and Christmas Eve is no exception. It’s always been somewhat of a family tradition to go help at the store on Christmas Eve. Men…they wait until the last SECOND to go shopping and so it’s a store full of men who are easy to help because by 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve they’ll buy anything. My Mom always brings lunch and we take turns eating and helping customers. Then we usually close around 4 and we just kind of hang around for a little bit. Fun times. Kody has even gotten in on helping on Christmas Eve.

Now on Christmas Day we alternate between my parents house and 2 aunts houses for Christmas with my Dad’s side. We do Christmas with Mom’s side after the holiday.

Since Kody and I got married we’ve only spent 3 (this year will be 4) of the 10 Christmases together that we’ve been together. We were together in 2003 and never spent one Christmas Eve or Christmas Day together until 2009 when we got married! Talk about neither one of us wanting to break tradition. Really we felt it was best to be with our families during that time. In 2009, our first Christmas together, we woke up at our house on Christmas morning and opened gifts, we also did this in 2010. It’s special to wake up in our own house on Christmas morning and open gifts just the two of us. I love that time. Last year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Jackson.

The Thompson family has a HUGE Christmas Eve tradition that last year I got to first experience. John (My FIL) and his siblings (there are 5 all together) and their kids, plus grandkids, plus extra people all gather for prime rib, games, and Christmas cheer. There’s usually at least 40 people at Kody’s Aunt & Uncle’s house (the house his Dad grew up in). It’s wild, crazy, and a regular Thompson time. We will miss that this year because we aren’t able to celebrate with them until the weekend after Christmas. Our BIL, Luke, has to work.

I am thrilled though we’ll be at our church Christmas Eve. It is my absolute favorite thing of the holiday season. Love, love, love it.

A few things in my mind that I can’t wait to do when we have kids are…

Elf on the Shelf…I bought this in 2009 and he’s been waiting patiently in my Christmas closet since then.

Letters to Santa on Christmas Eve along with cookies & milk.

Christmas Eve church service.

Some type of special breakfast on Christmas.

Looking at Christmas lights and listening to Christmas music.

Watching Elf, Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Christmas Vacation (Just KT & Me), and Polar Express together…

And many other things!

What are your holiday traditions?