One of the things we love doing in the run up to Christmas is a whole lot of baking and crafting. Now Freddy is three he enjoys joining in with his big sisters making cakes or cookies, or getting crafty with glue and glitter. It is messy but it's so much fun.
The children all get brand new PJ's on Christmas Eve so they can wake up with them on, on Christmas Day in order to pile into our king size bed to open their stockings first thing in the morning. This is my favourite part of the day, our first taste of Christmas. It's magical!
Ella will be playing Christmas songs on her guitar and we will all be singing along. Having a houseful of music is such a wonderful gift. Freddy loves dancing when Ella plays and it is just a beautiful thing to witness.
Santa will be tracked via NORAD and he will be left his usual snack and tipple along with a carrot for Rudolph. One year we set up a 'secret camera' and caught Santa partaking in his festive port and mince pie. The children were delighted with the print out of our 'evidence' that we gathered, proving the Big Man had indeed stopped by! We'll be rigging up the spy camera in the Christmas tree again this year.
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| Evidence that Santa stopped by! |
We haven't had a real Christmas tree for the past few years because of Freddy. I didn't think having the sharp needles around were a good idea with a toddler in the house, but this year he is old enough to appreciate a tree. We go to a local farm, where a tractor ride takes you out into the field to choose the perfect tree. I'm looking forward to introducing Freddy to this tradition. We have some very special baubles that we have bought for the children over the years and they help decorate the tree.
Before me and Ian go to bed, we cover the opening to the living room door with wrapping paper from a big roll. In the morning the children can burst through it to find the room magically transformed into a wonderland with pressies under the tree and festive goodies arranged on the windowsills. However old they get, they love the anticipation and excitement of this tradition!
We always try to take time with the present unwrapping to avoid the frenzy of activity that always results in the kids not knowing who they got their presents from. Gift tags not even looked at in the urgency to rip off the paper! So, we make sure we stop and think of the person who gave us each present before we dive in. It makes the children appreciate the value of gift giving.
The rest of our day involves around playing with the latest games and watching the new DVD acquisitions, while surrounded by tins of Celebrations and Heroes! It's just lovely to relax with the children and simply have fun without any pressure to do anything.
Christmas dinner changes every year as being vegetarian means traditional turkey is off the menu. I don't know what I'll be serving up, but I know it's going to be good vegetarian fayre! We also enjoy a special meal on December 21st to celebrate the Winter Solstice, so we get two festive feasts!
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| Chestnut Bourginogne Pie with a trio of Mashes and Sprouts! |
On Christmas Eve we prepare all the vegetables so I don't have to spend too much time stuck in the kitchen on Christmas day. Prepping everything together with the kids while we sing Christmas tunes is a highlight of the whole Christmas period.
Just thinking about all these traditions has made me feel very excited about Christmas 2012. Freddy will be able to really enjoy everything this year and Megan will be coming home to spend some time with us. Plus my baby grandson will be born resulting in an impromptu trip to Northampton at some point! I'm definitely starting to feel festive!
I'm linking up to Circus Mums Christmas Traditions Linky!