Christmas Traditions

I love having Christmas traditions with my family! Today I'll be sharing some of my family's favorite Christmas traditions that we have enjoyed over the years and new ones that we are adding this year. I hope you will enjoy a peek into our life and find a Christmas tradition here that you would like to start this year with your family.

Messer Family Christmas Traditions

• Christmas Eve Pajamas - Every year I go shopping for Christmas themed pajamas for me and my daughter. Last year I tried including my son, but he didn't seem that interested (just like his Dad...lol). This year I'll also be buying for my sweet son-in-law, Jonathan! Maybe he will want to join in on the fun of opening up pajamas on Christmas Eve...lol!
• Happy Birthday Jesus Cake - Now this is a Messer family Christmas tradition that everyone enjoys! Every night on Christmas Eve we bake a cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday. Then on Christmas morning, we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eat birthday cake for breakfast. Super mom points every time!
• Word of the Year Christmas Ornament - This is a Christmas tradition we began last December. We searched for a Christmas ornament to hang on our tree that described how we experienced God throughout the year. The ornament we chose last year had Peace on it because God had given us His perfect peace last year during our son's health issues and diagnosis'. We will be choosing a new ornament tomorrow that describes how we have experienced God as a family this year and hang it on our Christmas tree. It's a perfect opportunity to discuss how God's hand has been on our family throughout the year as we decorate our Christmas tree!
• Grandma Matthews' Chocolate Meringue Pie - My dear, sweet Grandma Matthews always made the most delicious chocolate meringue pies. I miss her so much, and in remembrance of my Grandma Matthews, I make a Chocolate Meringue Pie as part of our Christmas meal.
• Christmas Movie Nights - My family loves Christmas movies! We just watched our first one tonight, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We will watch a Christmas movie every night leading up to Christmas. Some of our favorites are Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Elf, The Santa Clause movies, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas with the Kranks, Arthur Christmas, and The Polar Express. This year I want to add The Nativity Story to our Christmas movie list.
• Baking Christmas Cookies - This is a fun time in our kitchen! We usually make sugar cookies and then add red and green sprinkles. Yum!
• Family Photo w/Chrismon Tree - Our church puts up a beautiful Chrismon tree every year in the sanctuary. We always take a family photo in front of the Chrismon tree. It's special to go back and look at how my kids have grown and changed over the years. My daughter got married this year; and we are thrilled that her husband will be joining us in our family photo in front of the Chrismon tree!   

New Christmas Traditions
I am very excited about our three new Christmas traditions we are adding this year!  

• Advent Journey - Tomorrow we begin our Advent journey using Celebrate Jesus Light of the World: An Advent Journey for Families {affiliate link}. This is a beautiful ebook that provides an amazing assortment of ideas and a daily schedule to use in our home for our Advent journey. Yesterday we went to our local Christian bookstore and bought our Advent wreath and candles. 
• Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt - We will hop in my mini van with hot chocolate and popcorn with Christmas music playing on the radio as we search for the items on our Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt list. There are a lot of lists you can find if you do a search online. Just pick your favorite list and print it off to take with you. I can't wait to do this!
• Christmas Outreach Project - Yesterday we began this new tradition by serving for an hour at our church's Stuff the Bus Christmas outreach to collect toys for needy children. We had a wonderful time!

 

Here I am with my husband and son volunteering at Stuff the Bus Christmas Outreach

Well, I hope you enjoyed a look into our Christmas traditions! Do you have any family Christmas traditions? I would love to hear about them, so please leave me a comment below.

This post is a part of Inspired Holiday Traditions blog hop from the Inspired Bloggers Network. Click on the link provided to read more posts on inspired holiday traditions from some of my favorite bloggers. While there, be sure to add your own link for your family's holiday traditions!

Here's a few posts I have enjoyed from the Inspired Holiday Traditions blog hop...check them out!

• Katie, at Paradise Praises is sharing about Christmas Eve Gifts
• Linda, at Apron Strings & Other Things is sharing about her Family Traditions
• Virginia, at Georgetown, MN is sharing her recipe for her family's Jesus' Birthday Cake! I can't wait to try that recipe for my family this Christmas morning!

Making Traditions,
Laurie