Traditions

In our home, we have a pretty big line-up of holiday traditions--beginning during Halloween, when I sit down with the kids and watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Now that Christmas is ten days away, I admit that I've been a bit lax this year on the tradition front. Having about six jobs between the two of us does that, so I'll be cramming them in in a daily double kind of way. Here's a list of what we'll be doing and what we've already done:

- Decorate the house inside and out
- Read Christmas books at bedtime
- Have a hot chocolate and popcorn movie night
- Put a train set around the tree
- Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life (in black and white only)
- Dance and sing to Christmas music
- Visit the snow
- Take a picture with Santa
- Write a letter to Santa
- Bake cookies
- Pick a new ornament for the year
- Attend midnight mass
- Christmas brunch
- Help make lumpia/teach Dianna more about Filipino food

This is a great time to teach kids what traditions are, and traditions are not just a yearly event. Traditions like family game night and having a nighttime routine count--anything that you do regularly, but now there's new vocabulary for it. Some of our regular traditions include library visits, storytime, and family dinners at the grandparents' house.

What are your traditions?