This is the year!

Thanksgiving is over and so officially starts the christmas season. Even though Tyler and I have been married for almost 12 years now, we really haven't started too many of our own family traditions. The kids are growing up so fast and it seems that we have been floating through christmases past on extended family traditions. There are a few things that I have been wanting to start, but every year it flies by and we don't get around to it. The past four Christmases have been difficult ones for me, where I haven't been able to participate in alot of the family fun because of spinal taps and other health issues. So............This is the year!!

The first thing I want to do is make my family our Christmas stockings. We had some that Tyler's mom made for us when we were first married but thanks to a lovely flood in our crawl space at the Hamlet, they were ruined. Since then I have been using some that my mom had bought and just had on hand. Now I know that most people who know me know that I know NOTHING about sewing or anything to do with sewing. But I have been looking on ebay and found a knitting book and thought "Why don't I just knit my own? How hard can it be, right?" Realisticly I know this is not something that I will have completed for this christmas so we will use the borrowed ones one last time this year. I am sure it will take me allllllll year to make the ones I want.

Tyler and I have an arguement every year about whether or not to have a real Christmas tree. After getting a bug infested tree one year I swore I would never do it again. My mom bought me a fake tree that I absolutely loved. Sadly I was only able to use it one year before we moved out and moved in with Karol. Now that we live here, the arguement continues. My fake tree was left at my parents house and when I went to get it last year Tyler was very very excited when it was no where to be found. A few days ago we were talking about the tree issue again and Tyler reminded me that we couldn't find my tree. Right then the phone rang and it was my sister saying she found my tree!!!!! Well, I thought I won until Tyler brain washed the kids into real Christmas trees. So...... we compromised. Downstairs we will have a real christmas tree and my fake one will be set up upstairs in the loft. That way both trees will be seen. The first family home evening in December we will sit and make homemade ornaments and just fun stuff to put on my fake one in the loft. Now I just need to get Tyler to bring it in from outside. It is sitting there very sad and lonely outside our french doors.

Since I have been very generous and allow the real trees into my house after being infested by bugs, Tyler started something with me last year that does make me very happy. Last year while buying our tree, Tyler bought me the biggest real poinsetta plants I have ever seen. I loved them. This year I got a big real wreath. The guy selling the trees says he will look into selling real garland. So as long as I agree to the real tree, Tyler throws in something special that he knows I will love.

My friend Rachel has a tradition that I actually want to steal from her. They always spend one night during the holidays with the kids by the Christmas tree. I know my kids would love this and enjoy that family time together.

Elf on the Shelf will also be started this year. My dear friend Lesa told me about this when she started this fun story with her kids a few years ago. I wanted to start this last year but it was another one of those things that I didn't get around to doing.

Of course we will carry on a lot of other traditions like pj's on Christmas Eve, going to the cemetary and singing Christmas carols on Grandpa Phil's (Tyler's dad's) grave, driving around drinking hot chocolate while looking at Christmas lights, and coockies for Santa. I know that there are traditions that I must be missing out on. How about you? What are your favorite family traditions?