I Remember Christmas ~ Holiday Parties ~ 12/7/12

December 7 ~ Holiday Parties

Did your family throw a holiday party each year?  Do you remember attending any holiday parties?

Growing up, my family always met at my Grandmother's for a Christmas Eve celebrations.  We had food, cookies, exchanged presents and just had a great time together.  After she passed, we have been moving the location almost every year to a relative' home. 

Last year, we all met at my cousin Steph's house.  She was "heavy with child" and we decided to meet there so that she wouldn't have to travel anywhere.  This year we'll be meeting at our house on Christmas Eve.

We also attend a few other parties/events throughout the season.  The ladies at my Church always have a Christmas party where we go out to eat and exchange gifts after having a Devotion.

The Adult Group from Church is also having a potluck dinner to get together and exchange gifts.

We also always have a Christmas Game night for everyone to attend and have fun.  And on the Sunday evening before Christmas, we meet and go Christmas caroling and then come back to the Church for hot chocolate, cookies and snacks.

As you can see, most of my activities revolve around my family and Church.

I Remember Christmas ~ Santa Clause ~ 12/6/12

December 6 ~ Santa Claus

Did you ever send a letter to Santa?  Did you ever visit Santa and "make a list"?  Do you still believe in Santa Clause?

Every year our town has a Christmas Parade in which Santa has a float with a mailbox.  As kids, my brother and I would always write our letter and put it in Santa's mailbox.  My kids now do the same.  The neatest part is Santa ALWAYS writes back!  So cool :)

When I was little, Santa would visit our school and we would each have a turn to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what we wanted for Christmas.  He would listen to each one and then give us pencils that had our very own name on them!  So exciting.

Now, Santa makes a stop in the Community Center after the Christmas Parade and the children have a chance to visit with him and get a candy cane.

As for the question:  "Do I still believe in Santa Clause?"  I would never say otherwise and take the risk of not getting any presents.  I like presents!

I Remember Christmas ~ Outdoor Decorations ~ 12/5/12

December 5 ~ Outdoor Decorations

Did people in your neighborhood decorate with lights?  Did some people really go "all out" when decorating?  Any stories involving your ancestors and decorations.

This is going to be short and sweet today.

My family has never been huge on outdoor decorations.  The most was a few strands of lights here or there.

I grew up in the boonies so not many neighbors then.  Now, I live in town and there is a family in the neighborhood who does go "all out".  We're talking a 15 foot Santa and his entire village throughout the back yard.  Actual buildings.  It is a pretty big undertaking, I'd imagine.  The kids LOVE to drive by.  It is kind of a big deal and they have even been featured in the local newspaper.  Each year they go bigger and bigger.

See, short and sweet :)

I Remember Christmas ~ Christmas Cards ~ 12/4/12

December 4 ~ Christmas Cards

 

Did your family send cards?  Did your family display the ones they received?  Do you still send Christmas cards?  Do you have any cards from your ancestors?

My Mom has always sent Christmas cards to the entire extended family even to 2nd and 3rd cousins across the country that she has never met.  It is very important to her to show that they are in her thoughts at Christmas time.

I, however, have streamlined my list over the years.  I now only send cards to "immediate"-extended family, if that makes any sense at all.  We also give Christmas cards to all of our Church families.

This past Saturday, the girls and I sat down with our Christmas cards and lists and they helped me pick the cards and then decorated the envelopes with drawing and artwork.  We had such a nice time working on them together.  They were so excited to be a part of the tradition.  Sunday, they had such fun handing them out to our Church family and saying "Merry Christmas" with each card they gave.

We have always displayed the Christmas cards that we receive for the year.  We usually will tape them around doorways and windows or arches throughout the house.  I always end up picking up the ones that fall and stick them back up.

We've also used Christmas cards from past years to make ornaments, decorations and even name tags for Christmas gifts.  I enjoy looking through the cards from previous years.

My Mom has a tradition of getting the cards she received out sometime during January to sit down and take the time to appreciate them all again and reflect on each person who took the time to give her a card.  It helps her with her Post-Christmas blues.

I really like this idea and think I'll do it this year also.  I might even get them out a few times through the year and enjoy them.
What are your Christmas Card traditions?

I Remember Christmas ~ Christmas Tree Ornaments ~ 12/3/12

December 3 ~ Christmas Tree Ornaments

Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments?  Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries?  Did you family make Christmas ornaments?

The only cherished ornaments my parents had when we were growing up were the ornaments that my brother and I made each year in school.

Now my Mom has a few ornaments that will become heirlooms.  She has a large nail ornament to represent Jesus being nailed to the cross.  It really means a lot to her.

In my house, we use the extra little silver bells from our Wedding Day to decorate the tree.  Instead of rice or seeds, we had our guests ring a little silver bells that had our names and date on it as we walked out of the Church.  The ones that were left over are very special to us and I enjoy seeing them each year as we hang them on our tree.

We started a tradition of getting our daughters a special ornament each year to commemorate something that is special to them at that point in their lives.  The idea is that when they move out and have their own tree, they will have their ornaments to decorate it, but I don't know if I'll be able to part with them!

Each year as we decorate our tree, we look at each ornament and talk about how old each girl was that year and why it was special.  Last year, we got my oldest daughter the prettiest silver flute ornament and my youngest a Hello Kitty.  Some of the other ornaments are basketball, kindergarten, first Christmas, horses, butterflies, soccer, a stuffed bear, ballet slippers etc.

We always surprise them each year with their ornament but they don't read my blog so I can tell you about them :)

This year my oldest is getting the neatest "Journal" ornament.  She loves to write stories and draw and her favorite things in the world are composition books, tablets and journals.  I was so excited to find this customized ornament on Etsy.  The artist added "Kaylee" to the front and glitter.  She's going to LOVE it!

Our youngest started Kindergarten this year so we got her a little snowman sitting at a desk from Hallmark.  It is as cute as a button!

As for stringing popcorn and cranberries, that is something we didn't do.  We did, however, make paper chains out of green and red construction paper.  That was always fun.  I've also done it with my girls for decorations.

I am so glad we're going to get our tree this weekend because now I'm excited to get all our ornaments out and reminisce!

I Remember Christmas ~ Holiday Foods ~ 12/2/12

December 2 ~ Holiday Foods

Did your family or ancestors serve traditional dishes for the holidays?  Was there on dish that was unusual?

I would say that we mostly have had traditional foods for Christmas dinner.  The usual ham, potatoes, etc.  My Grandmother would usually add some kielbalsa in with the ham to bake while we were at Church.  One year we got to my Grandparents after Church and the kielbalsa had burnt.  It was delicious!  We still talk about how good that burnt kielbalsa was :)

A few years ago we started mixing it up a bit because we had been having ham/turkey for so many dinners in December.  The first year we had lasagna and garlic bread.  Then for the years following we had soup/salad/breadsticks, smoked salmon, deer roast and we haven't decided what we're having this year.  The deer roast seems to be a big hit so we might have that again this year since the guys have been fairly successful with their hunting.
One item that is always a must have is Pickled Eggs.  I personally think they are the most disgusting creation, but everyone else enjoys them.  (Eww!)   One year they were forgotten and my cousin who was a teen at the time was so upset that she refused to eat anything!  It is now a standing joke among us on Christmas Day.  They have never been forgotten since.

If you have any ideas as to what we should have for dinner this year, please leave a comment :)
What are some of your memories or traditions about Christmas foods?

I Remember Christmas ~ The Christmas Tree ~ 12/1/12

December 1 ~ The Christmas Tree

Did you have a real tree or was it artificial?  How big was the tree?  Who decorated the tree?  What types of Christmas trees did your ancestors have?

We have always had a real Christmas tree.  For as far back as I can remember, we would go as a family to a Christmas tree farm or on a few occasions we went to a Christmas tree lot.  We would then look for the perfect tree.  We used my Dad's height as a measure for the tree.  It had to be at least as tall as him but not over 6 inches taller or we wouldn't have room for the tree topper.

Now that I have my own family, my Mom and I sit down with our calendars and plan a "Christmas Tree Day".  We all go together to pick out "2" trees.  We now use my Dad and my husband to pick the perfect height for the tree.  I love having my kids running around the farm.  They are always so excited and looking for the "one".

For the longest time when I was growing up, we would decorate the tree until Christmas Eve.  It had been a tradition for my Mom as she was growing up and we continued it for years.  Then my Mom decided to start decorating it about 2 weeks before Christmas because Christmas Eve was so busy.  At first I did NOT like that we were changing tradition.  Now, we usually decorate our tree either the same day we bring it home or the next day.  Doug, the girls and I decorate our tree.  Mom and Dad decorate their tree.  Sometimes the girls will go up and help.
The only details I know about my ancestors Christmas trees would be my Grandparents on my Mom's side.  They had real trees as my Mom and her siblings were growing up but then switched to an artificial tree.  It was always the job of the grandchildren to decorate the tree.  My brother has now inherited their tree and my kids go up and decorate it for him.  Holding on to a bit of tradition there :)

I'll have to ask my Dad about his family as he was growing up.  I'm sure they had a real tree but I've never really asked him about it before.  I'll have to come back to that one.

What are some of your memories or traditions with Christmas trees?

I Remember Christmas! 2012

I had so much fun participating in the 30 Days of Gratitude and it helped me to focus so much more on my blessing than I would have otherwise.

I just found the "I Remember Christmas" Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.  For each day between December 1st and December 24th, there is a prompt to help you remember Christmas traditions and memories.

You can click on the button above to go find out more and to get the prompts.

I look forward to reminiscing and having fun participating in this event!

Let me know if you decide to participate so I can check out your answers ;)