Jennifer Stagg asked each of the blog hop participants to share what makes the Holidays special to us. Specifically, she wants us to share the traditions we participate in with our families that bring us the true joy of the season. My family and I have quite a few traditions we take part in during the Holidays. If I shared them all, you might fall asleep before you make it to the end of my post, so I'll just share a few of our favorites instead. ;) I also thought it would be fun to show you some pictures of my Christmas decor from not only this year, but also from years past, as I tell you about a few of our favorite Holiday traditions. Sound good? Great, here we go!
The Nutcracker
This is one of my favorite traditions, because it is one that my daughters and I do together. Both of my girls are dancers. They love everything about dance. At a young age, before my son was born, I took my girls to a local production of the Nutcracker. They were mesmerized! The costumes, the dancing, the story, they loved every minute. It only took going to one time to know that this would become a tradition for us. Over the last few years, our tradition has evolved. A good friend has a daughter that dances in the production each year. To support her, we attend the ballet with her Mom and sisters and another good friend and her daughters. We all go out to eat together afterward. The production we go to is always in November and it acts as a kick off to our Holiday season!
2015
Each year at Christmastime, my husband and I get our kids a new Christmas book. The kids get the book on the 1st of December and we all read it together as a family and then throughout the month we read the books we have collected from past years. The books we choose to buy generally focus on the true meaning of Christmas and are a great way to bring the spirit of Christmas into our home all month long.
2014
Each Holiday season our family chooses a service project or charity to donate our time and resources to. It is important to my husband and I that we teach our children how to serve others. Some of the services we have performed over the years are shopping for and donating toys and clothing to a local shelter, adopting a less fortunate family for Christmas, and making toys to donate to an organization that sells the donated toys to raise money for our local Children's Hospital. Although, we try to teach our kids the value of service all year long, we feel it is especially important for our family to serve others during a time where there is so much focus on getting gifts for ourselves.
2013
On Christmas Eve our extended family gathers together, usually at our home, to have dinner and take part in some activities. The kids bake and decorate cookies for Santa, we read the story of Christ's birth from the bible and play some fun games. On Christmas day everyone gather together again, at my Mother and Father in law's home for brunch. Every brunch includes my husband's grandmother's famous Breakfast Casserole. I can't imagine Christmas without that casserole. This year will be especially bittersweet when that casserole is served, with the passing of our beautiful Grandmother just a few months ago.
2012
There are so many other traditions we take part in, but I hope you enjoyed reading about just a few, while also scrolling the images of my Christmas Decor. Thanks again, to Jennifer Stagg for asking me to be a part of the A Holiday withHeart Blog Hop. I hope my post has helped you all feel a bit more go the warmth and joy of this Holiday Season! Next on the blog hop is the talented duo of Brigit and Casey from The DIY Playbook, be sure to head over to their blog for more Holiday inspiration!!
If you missed any of the blog hop and would like to read about more Holiday traditions and see some fabulous Holiday decor, check out the posts from these wonderful ladies...
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Sita - Sita Montgomery Interiors
FRIDAY
