5 Fave Christmas Traditions For The Family :: Vol. 45 #5Faves

We have officially celebrated 5 Christmases as a family of three, and along the way, we have established a few Christmas traditions for the family that we look forward to every year.

But first… let’s take a moment to admire the insane beauty that is our city… shall we?

_{^{photo credit – Doug Clement Photography ©2015}}

Even the Grinch himself would not be able to resist getting into the holiday spirit. We sure can’t.

Here are 5 of our most favorite Christmas traditions for the family …

1:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – Decorating the tree

I’m not certain if we’re behind the eight ball on this one, but every year, we like to start putting up our decorations by December 1st. Don’t get me wrong – we get into the Christmas spirit well before that (tell me you heard jingle bells ringing sometime in mid-November… because I sure did!). No matter what spirit we’re in, or how busy life gets, we always make sure that by November 30th, 11:59PM, we have our tree up, lights twinkling, and mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

Yes. We’re that family.

We usually have a day of bringing up boxes out of storage, a million snacks ready to go by 2pm, Christmas music (because what are the holidays without a little Mariah Carey belting out “All I Want for Christmas is You”), and the three of us ready to jolly the heck outta our home.

2:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – Celebrating the True Meaning of Christmas

Coming from the same religious backgrounds, Big Daddy and I have always been pretty clear about how we were going to raise our little one. We knew our faith and our faith community would play a gigantic role throughout her and our family’s lives.

For us, Christmas time is beyond the magic and mistletoe. It’s the celebration of life and reliving a beautiful story year after year. We look forward to celebrating with one another and our community and truly connecting with the true essence of Christmas. It’s important to us, that Little Mama understands that every family has their own set of beliefs and to respect and honor these differences. However, in our home, we cherish our family’s meaning of Christmas and acknowledge that the joy we feel during this season goes deeper than receiving gifts and drinking egg nog (though, we all know egg nog sure makes the holidays brighter!).

More than receiving gifts, we also ensure we carve out a good amount of time to give back.  Every year, we stop by our local police and fire departments, our doctors and dentist, our fertility specialists, our teachers (past and present), our priests, and anyone who has given so much of themselves to make our lives a little bit better. We look so forward to putting together holiday treats to distribute, spearheaded by my little Elf in her usual snazzy Santa gear. This has become one of our most favorite traditions as we know it always brings such happiness to the very people that have done the same for us year after year.

3:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – Meeting Santa at Big Daddy’s Work

Work parties.

I know, sounds cliche, right? But we love Big Daddy‘s work parties because:

a) He works in a castle.
b) Santa comes every year bearing gifts for every single kid in attendance. He even calls each child by name (we do a little bit of sneaky work beforehand, of course).
c) It’s for the family and it is all about the kids. That means, no one really cares if my pedicure is up to snuff as everyone’s much too busy chasing their little ones around the castle to even notice.
d) It’s fancy. And we like fancy.

We jump at any and all opportunities to go to family parties during the holidays. Nothing warms my heart more than to see Little Mama‘s eyes light up when the bells ring and Santa appears with his gift sac, ripping at the seams.

4:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – City Displays, Tree Lighting, and Carriage Rides (aka Being a Tourist In Our Town)

These days, finding our local holiday events are as effortless as the click of a button. We have all of our city-wide events at our fingertips. Wanna sing with the carollers? Go to city centre. Fancy a tree lighting countdown? Catch it at Uptown. How about a carriage ride? Meet the horses at the corner of Dunsmuir and Allegro.

Wherever there’s tinsel, our family of 3 is there, ready to partake. We can’t wait to get this party started.

Plus… all this family stuff while braving the cold gives us a great excuse to sneak in some snuggles. Our most fave tradition of all.

5:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – Elf On The Shelf

I know among my friends, Elf on the Shelf is rather controversial. In our house of creative right-brainers, it’s a no-brainer. Any excuse for Big Daddy and crazy mommy to come up with funny hiding spots to surprise Little Mama – we are there, with our elf bells on and big goofy smiles on our faces.

Quite literally.

We love coming up with ideas that give Little Mama a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It’s hilarious seeing her foggy-eyed, bed-head and all, stumbling out of her room excitedly searching for her buddy, good ol’ Rosie. There are no limits with our little elf friend.

Also – it’s a good way to keep Little Mama on her toes knowing that Rosie will be taking notes and reporting good deeds to good ol’ Saint Nick. How else am I going to get this monkey to finish her green beans? #sorrynotsorry

Bonus Fave:: CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS FOR THE FAMILY – Making our New Year’s Resolution List as a Family

We’ve all been there. The New Year’s resolution list that basically stays stagnant until the following new year’s eve. That’s about 30+ years of unresolved resolutions.

But when we make that list as a family – somehow we feel more accountable to ourselves and one another. I mean, who else would I want to promise a year of laughter and goofiness with, other than my family?

Don’t forget to visit our fabulous co-host of #5faves at The Koala Mom for her list of local Christmas activities. We would love to hear some of YOUR five favorite things too. What are some of your fave Christmas traditions for the family? Link up below!

Traditions are meant to be enjoyed. Keep them alive!

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