Adding Christmas Traditions to Your Holiday Season

Christmas time is the most anticipated time of the year. Looking forward to your own family's traditions makes it even more inviting. Many families have traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. And then there are those that decide to start new traditions with their own family. But which ever you decide, it is never too late to begin the ritual of holiday traditions in your house.

Many families share the same traditions. For example, leaving cookies for Santa, or putting the tree up together. My family always put up the tree as we listened to Christmas carols. Every year my brother and I argued over who got to hang up the elves on the tree.

I grew up with the tradition of getting to open up one gift on Christmas Eve. I think my parents let us open one before we went into some sort of Christmas present overload. But whatever the reason was, it was something we looked forward to every Christmas Eve. I have now passed that tradition on to my own children. I act as though it is for them, but it is really the kid inside me that is dying to open up something.

Christmas morning had its own set of traditions. The stocking were opened first. I looked forward to this just as much as opening my gifts. We were able to come down and open them up without having to wait on the rest of the family, like we did when we opened up our gifts from Santa. Christmas morning also came with the tradition of letting the kids pass out the gifts.

After I got married I kept these traditions and started some new ones. Every year I take my son (and now my daughter, 2) and we pick out a new ornament for the tree. Another tradition I began with my son, is tracking Santa on the computer every Christmas Eve. We aIso leave food for the reindeer each year. It's made of hay, glitter, and yes, even Rice Krispies. Traditions like these can be easy to do and are very fun for little ones.

I have a friend whose mother made it a tradition to give her an ornament every time something special happened in her life. When she moved away from home, her mother gave her all the ornaments to take with her. Thus, she had ornaments to start her own tree. My step mother is Italian, and in her family, lasagna was served every Christmas, even if they had a ham or a turkey to go with it. Buying snowmen at Christmas time is another tradition one of my girlfriend's has. She goes at the beginning of every December and buys one for her collection.

Traditions can be fun, simple, and easy. If you want to start your own, do something that you will enjoy. If you like cooking, make cookies with your kids or friends every year. If you like to sew, sew a new ornament for someone every holiday. Giving to charities can be a part of your own traditions as well. Make it a goal to give to a different charity every year. This can be a personal tradition, or something you can do with friends or family. I have a friend whose tradition is to try to get her friends gifts to match exactly what their hobby is, whether they are a "Lost" addict, or a collector of every kind of Ginsu knife known to man.

Christmas traditions can start the day after Thanksgiving and go until New Years Eve. Remember to make them easy and something that you will enjoy doing every year. They can be whatever you want them to be. Just remember that they are yours and that's what makes them so special. Traditions that were handed down to you, or new ones you create with your family, are something that can last a lifetime. Whether your tradition is as simple as sitting on the porch every Christmas Eve looking for Santa with your kids, or baking pumpkin bread for each of your neighbors year after year, the sentiment is the same. Traditions bring us comfort and a feeling joy each and every year.