Christmas Traditions

For Christmas 2009, we have continued with many of the holiday traditions we have come to love... *I made 100 Christmas cards and sent our annual newsletter out with them. We tried to keep the cards simple this year!

*For friend gifts we gave out children's books about "The First Christmas" and chocolate covered peppermint sticks. I looked all over town for the peppermint sticks and finally just ordered them online this year!
*A tradition we've had for years is to dress the kids in coordinating Christmas outfits. The girls have outgrown the matching dresses, but I still got to match the boys this year (these adorable vests were hand me downs from a good friend).

*Every year the kids look forward to going to "Journey to Bethlehem" at the Grace Community Church in Ceres. This year Grandpa Jay came along. You really have to bundle up because it's quite chilly in the cold December night. I opted to stay home with Conner this year (actually I was truly being a wimp about the cold).
*Every year we attend the Ward Christmas Party. I especially love going now that I'm no longer in charge of it.
The Young Women sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas" at the ward party. The younger kids sat on Santa's lap - Conner didn't love it!

*We love to drive around and look at all the lights around town. This home was featured in the newspaper so we decided to check it out. All the lights are synchronized with Christmas music played on your car radio; it was pretty amazing!

*We always take the kids Christmas shopping for each other and Mom and Dad at the Dollar Tree. The kids love picking out gifts and giving them to each other. I was able to get this picture in the Dollar Tree this year. The girls thought it was pretty embarrassing, but I think it's cute.

*We always have a block party on Christmas Eve and decorate our street with these luminaries. We call it "Santa's runway."

*We try to make it up to Temple Hill at least once during the holidays. The lights are fun to see, sometimes we watch a concert, and we take the kids to the Visitors' Center.

We are glad we are creating holiday traditions. We really look forward to them every year!