Happy Sunday Loves!

I am so excited to celebrate Christmas this year because it will be my second Christmas ever spent at home.  The first was when I was pretty young and a blizzard covered Kansas City making the drive out of state impossible.  Every year my brother and I would wake Mom and Dad at 5am and open all of our presents.  We would leave our “winnings” around 9am and make the drive to Iowa.  We wanted to see family but as kids it was hard leaving our new toys for several days. 

Adulting has caused me to mix things up this year by needing to celebrate Christmas in Iowa early. So a long tradition of 20 Christmases has changed, and I’m looking forward to waking up Christmas morning and staying in my pajamas!  It sounds even more dreamy to me because I have a nasty cold that has left me feeling awful.  Rudolph isn’t the only one with a red nose. 

Traditions are what we remember as children.  It isn’t the presents, what we got, or so and so had more gifts then I did.  It is the moment of walking into Grandma’s house and smelling the prime rib and mashed potatoes or a Christmas movie coming on that we all enjoy together as a family.  My memories are from the things I could count on in December.  Here are a few of my favorite traditions to share.

Finding the Pickle on the Tree

Okay … so it’s not a real pickle … but it is a blown glass pickle ornament.  This tradition is very popular in Germany.  My family has some German roots so we participate in it too. 

My parents will hide the pickle ornament on the tree about 5 minutes before my brother and I are allowed to search for it.  Whoever finds it first wins and gets to open the “pickle prize.”  It’s quite hard to find because it is green and our tree is very green so it camouflages well.  We just about tackle the tree and knock it down to find it.  The gift is always a gift that we share or one for the entire family to play.  One year it was a set of marshmallow shooters and the dogs loved getting our bullets and eating them before we could ever reload.

The First Gift of Christmas 

The first gift of Christmas is always the best gift.  It’s PAJAMAS!!!  I literally love Christmas themed pajamas.  My brother and I have been getting pajamas on Christmas Eve since we were born.  It’s awesome and no … they are not matching PJs.  My brother used to cry when he would open his and say “I don’t want these …. I want a train.”  My Grandma started this tradition with my Mom.  So she passed it down to us.  This gift is the only gift we open on Christmas Eve.

Decorating of the Gingerbread House

So many houses my brother and I have decorated and demolished!  It was a project we made together.  One year the roof was disappearing on the house every day.  We were pretty sure my brother was eating it.  When he was asked about it, he stated it was a mouse helping himself to our house.  We don’t have mice in our house!  I’m happy that Bryce and I made a little gingerbread house for our apartment this year.  I love it!  And yes, we sampled all the candy as we built it.  That’s the best part of making one.  I adore our little house, and it will be one that I will always remember.

Merry Christmas Friends!  I am sure we share some of the same family Christmas traditions and would love hearing about yours.  The older I get the more I realize how important those traditions are, and I cherish the ones from my childhood.  Placing them in my adult life is very comforting and creating new ones with Bryce is a way we are building our lives together.

Happy Holidays!!

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