Stockings Hung with Care...

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Ask my mom or dad...I listen to Christmas songs in July. :) I love the joy that people have and the "feeling of Christmas". It's funny because people KNOW there's so much more than just Santa and buying gifts. Its like this internal awknoledgement that it's the most important day of the year - it's Jesus' birthday!

I love Christmas traditions too, and this year we've really been working on instilling these traditions in our kids - something that they can then take and begin to make with their families when they grow up. So on this Christmas eve eve, I thought I'd let you in on a few of our traditions we've started with our little ones.

We start setting up things the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. Jason usually has to work on Black Friday, so that's why we wait until the next day. It begins with the tree. While the kids are napping, Jason sets it up and I spread open the branches. Jason srings the lights and we set it into place. Then when the kids wake up, they help decorate the tree. Of course, since we have three toddlers in the house, we have a baby gate around our tree :)

The gate works well for curious pets too. And it keeps a certain curious little four-year-old out of the presents.... This year he's been sneaky and been looking in the ones that were just put in bags. I think he takes after his momma....

We hang the stockings and we put on KSBJ because they play a variety of Christmas music all day every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Nothing else really gets done until the week of Christmas...then the anticipation and preparation begins. I'll write about that when the week is over so that I'll have LOTS of pictures to share. :) So be anxiously awaiting!