Show Us Your Life {Christmas Traditions}

I wrote a few years ago about my traditions I had growing up, but not sure I’ve talked about the traditions we’ve started with our family.

1.) Choosing & cutting down a real Christmas tree ourselves

Growing up, I never had a real tree. So now that I’ve been in Auburn for 14 Christmases every year we’ve had a real tree. We love the Virginia Pines, but there was a year that those were hard to find around here, so we settled for a Cyprus. We now have a place that we go to every year with a hayride through the hills out to where the trees are and the boys get down on their hands and knees to cut it down. It’s fun. Some years we are in t-shirts and shorts and then there are some years we’re bundled up.

This was Monkey’s 1st trip to the Christmas tree farm. It was a drizzly one!

2.) Having the boys unwrap their new PJ’s on Christmas Eve
Another family tradition that I started was having the boys open a present Christmas Eve. It’s always a new pair of PJ’s, because I want them to be cute for pictures the next morning. And it is so funny that every year TV Boy acts a bit sad and disappointed when he opens it, like he forgets what it’s going to be.

Here they are in their PJ’s 2008

3.) Making Sausage Balls & cookies for Santa
On Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve day I enjoy baking cookies for Santa and making Sausage balls. Most years the kids get a Gingerbread kit and decorate it also. Makes for a cute table decoration. This year I’m thinking of making one without a kit! Will post about that.

5.) Taking Christmas portraits of the boys

Here’s Monkey’s 1st Christmas portrait. If only you knew how I was dripping with sweat after trying to get this shot!

6.) Taking the boys to see Santa

7.) Watching Christmas movies
Leading up to Christmas, we enjoy snuggling around the fire as a family to watch some of our Christmas movies (post about that coming soon!)