Christmas Traditions and New Year's Resolutions

A little late I know, but better late than never right? (One of my New Year's Commitments is not to stress over the little things and take time to enjoy life!)

So the holidays were crazy however we more than enjoyed ourselves.  One of my favorite things about the holidays is not the gifts, although I do love giving them and seeing others faces light up, it's some of the traditions that we have passed down and hopefully will continue to pass down to the next generations.

As a little girl, it didn't matter where we were Santa always found us.  I say this because once my aunt in NC had my cousins, we would travel back and forth every other year so that we could all be together for the holidays.  For most of my childhood I remember being surround by family on Christmas morning - my Pop Pop and Granny, my parents, my aunts, and my uncles and cousins as they were added - there would be people everywhere!  My parents house when I was little wasn't too much bigger than mine and everyone stayed there - our beds became beds for others, the pull out couch became another bed and my sister and I slept on free space on the floor.  No hotel rooms just three bedrooms and two baths and a whole lot of family!  It was crazy but we were all together and they were all there for Christmas. 

Now, the family may not all come together from NC, however my parents and my sister and her husband all trek over from my parents early in the morning on Christmas Day to be here when the kids come out for Santa.  Because my mom is a nurse that works nights, we've sometimes had to hold the kids back for a while, but to see the kids joy and my parents in watching them - I would change a thing - especially this year!

 

Another Christmas tradition is my grandmother's dumplings (course these are good anytime of year!) - our little helpers assisted in the kitchen to get everyone involved!

(Bugs works better when his tongue is out - go figure!)

Another tradition - the wishbone!

 

 

One of our treasured traditions, and I think PopPop and Granny smile down from heaven on us, occurs on Christmas morning.  Santa doesn't wrap the presents he delivers at our house so when the kids come out - they can see the spoils that he has left.  Those are free game - they can open them and look at them as much as they want.  After that, before another present is opened - we take a couple minutes to remember the true present of Christmas. 

The kids look for baby Jesus (we have two nativity scene, luckily) who has gone from his warm place in the nativity scene to hiding somewhere in the Christmas Tree (now I'm not necessarily sure of the significance of hiding him in the Christmas Tree but this is what I remember as a child and what we are passing on to the kids - so sue me I don't have a story for everything!). 

Rosie helping Bugs locate his miracle in the manager.

Success!

 

Once Baby Jesus has been found we all (even Dad and Bodie join in) proceed in singing "Happy Birthday" to Baby Jesus.  Oh yeah!  Afterwards we all sit down for a minute, pull out a Bible, and read the story of Jesus birth.   I can remember the torture as a kid of seeing all of my presents, that I couldn't touch under the tree, and listening to a story I didn't really understand - but I can still see my PopPop sitting down in my parent's basement reading the story to us.  He's been gone for a very, very long time and while I didn't understand the words at the time, the repetition year after year ingrained a memory that is more important to me than all the presents in the world that I could have ever opened.  I can only hope and pray that one day my kids will feel the same way.....

As for New Year's resolutions, I'm refusing to make any because they always seem to get broken or fizzle out by the 15th (probably wishful thinking that they last that long).  Instead I'm continuing to make the changes in our lives that led us to this blog in the first place.  We are eating better, getting healthier, working on financial freedom, serving others - notice the word "trying" wasn't anywhere in that sentence!  We did continue our traditions into New Year's Eve (although everyone left long before the ball dropped!) where we celebrated with dear, dear friends and family just like we are blessed to do every year.  With the kids running around, and friends laughter ringing through the air - I couldn't think of a better way to close out 2013.

So what are some of your traditions and what are you "doing" this year to make your world better?