Christmas Traditions - Part 1

For lack of a better title, that is what I'm calling this post. Every morning our family 'discovers' what fun Christmas activity we get to do that night. (I'll post about our advent calendars later). Most of the time, the activity is something small; we can't be doing big things every day in December! Rather that post everyday and wear me out, I'll probably just post once a week.

Dec 1 - Address and Mail Christmas Cards. You can imagine how excited the kids were to do this. Enoch actually enjoyed putting on the stamps and I'm glad they are out. PS - If you didn't get one (and I only send them to people I don't see weekly!), please leave your address. I lost my addresses when we switched files over to our new computer. We didn't forget you, just lost your address.

Dec 2 - Nothing. We skipped this day. Greg got home after bedtime and Mom had a meltdown.

Dec 3 - Drink Eggnog. My boys love eggnog. It is Greg's favorite treat to make during the holidays and Gavin and Enoch can't get enough of it. Kate likes it, but not as much as the boys. I'm sure we will all die from raw eggs, but we will go happy.

Dec 4 - Get a Tree. I'm so ready for a fake, pre-lit tree. I hate putting on lights and it seems like by the time we get home from Smith's with our tree, tensions are a bit high. But, Greg loves a live tree and since he doesn't ask for much, I'm happy to do it every year for him.
This year, Kate and I went to get more lights and we let the boys pick out the tree. Yikes, it doesn't quite fit. I guess that's what happens when you let the menfolk chose the tree!

Dec 5 - Catch up (decorate the tree, Festival of Trees, sleep under the tree). We got a bit behind with our activities because of Mom's tantrum and Greg working late. On Friday, Greg didn't get home until about 7:30, so by the time we got the tree, got it up, ate dinner (at 8:30), it was too late to decorate it or for me to let the kids sleep under it. So, on Saturday, we did a lot.
Greg had to go into work again Saturday morning, so it was up to Mom and the kids to decorate the tree. I hate putting on lights; I do a terrible job. Since, the tree was ginormous, it took more lights than we thought and Kate and I had to make a Target run for more lights. Once, the tree was lit, things went a bit more smoothly. The kids decorated the tree, while I sat back and watched. We missed Greg during this tradition, but the tree looks great.
After lunch and Kate's nap, we headed to Sandy for Festival of Trees. What were we thinking? We pulled (eventually and gradually) into the parking lot, drove through it and left. It was beyond crowded. Next year, we will plan better. We still wanted to do something fun with the kids, but were coming up blank. Enoch wanted the aquarium, Gavin didn't. Greg wanted a movie, there was nothing good playing. Kate and I were tired. We eventually went to the library, ate at Carl's Jr., redboxed 'Up', and I made peanut butter bars. Not too Christmasy, but we still had fun together.
One of my favorite traditions is sleeping under the tree the night we decorate it. We pile pillows, blankets and sleeping bags in the living room and we read Christmas books under the tree. (Okay, next to the tree. Enoch was very insistent about that since last year he was very disappointed that we weren't sleeping right, exactly under the tree.) We read four books, talked, laughed and enjoyed the tree.
Kate and I went to bed, Enoch eventually stumbled into his bed, Greg ended up in bed, too. Gavin was the only one to brave the floor and made it through the entire night in the living room. It was so much fun!