When did Christmas get here? Doesn’t it seem like we were just eating leftover turkey & stuffing sandwiches? With Christmas just over a week away we thought we’d do our part by sharing with you some of our favorite holiday traditions and some outside-the-box gift ideas.
There’s something about holidays and tradition that go hand-in-hand. For us there will always be “Christmas Eve Pajamas” and “Santa Photos.” We even hope we won’t grow too old for my father’s famous “Secret Hidden Present.” Last year we started our “Ornament Tradition” with our daughter that includes a scrapbook archive. As our family grows, we hope to introduce many more must-do traditions!
A gift alternative we started 4 years ago with our family friends, The Watsons, in North Carolina has slowly become a tradition. Instead of trying to figure out what toy of the moment the Watson Kids would want for Christmas, we decided we would make an adventure of our present. Besides, too often today do kids get a toy, play with it for five minutes, and then move onto the next item. We usually only have a chance to visit North Carolina twice a year, so doing something fun with The Watsons allows us to find out what’s going on in their lives and really gives us a chance to spend some quality time together. We have decorated cookies, thrown our own face painting party, and divided into two teams for an afternoon of bowling. We make each adventure a little more fun by including a small gift. We sewed Christmas aprons for the kids when we made cookies. We bought a step-by-step face paint book so they could continue the fun with their friends after our day of dressing up. Last year, we bought everyone bandanas so we could represent our team fully! Neon vs. Camo. This year’s adventure might be our favorite. Since we keep it a surprise to the now 5 kids, you’ll have to wait for an update to see where we are taking them this year!
We have had so much fun with this new tradition that we are trying it out with the adults this year. You may remember our blog post about Trashed, the super fun upcycling craft studio in Concord, North Carolina. This year we are taking a handful of our female relatives there for a Ladies Craft Night! You can be sure we will post updates about this as well.
As for Georgia’s big gift this year, we are finding ourselves in a difficult spot. We don’t want to have to transport a lot of stuff between North Carolina and Brooklyn, but she is almost 2 and has more of an understanding of Christmas than she did last year. Truth be told, we believe we can still get away with creating a wonderland out of her favorite things…card board boxes…for one more year! Much like last year, we intend to transform the Carters' living room into Georgia’s Playland! Think “Elf” when Buddy decorates for Santa’s arrival in the department store! Alright, maybe that bar is too high, but we hope it makes her smile and captivates her imagination just as it did last year. Wish us luck!!
As Christmas quickly approaches, we hope you are staying calm and enjoying family and friends. Don’t let yourself worry too much about the material things. Plan an adventure. Set a date to do something different. Make a memory that will last a lifetime!