Christmas Traditions

I was at a baby shower last weekend, my very first baby shower in fact and let's just say it was revealing in so many ways. I definitely learnt a lot. {Mainly what cake I deem to be absurd and disgusting at a baby shower, but I'll leave you to ponder that one, I was that grossed out that I couldn't take a picture of it, sorry!} Anyway whilst at said baby shower there was a video of the Dad-to-be answering various baby specific questions and the lovely Mum-to-be had to guess what he said. A very sweet idea, but not the point of this post - I promise that I've not gone baby gooey on you! The question that got me thinking was this: What, from your childhood, are you most looking forward to doing with the baby? That's a pretty important question if you ask me, as presumably one of the reasons for having kids, apart from having someone to look after you when you're old and infirm, is that you get to create amazing memories with and for them. For me those memories are most likely to be focused on things I loved and experienced in childhood and as it’s Christmas I thought I’d share some of the more festive themed traditions I currently do that one day (in the distant future) I want to share with my own children.

First up are the decorations, every year my Mum has given me a brand new decoration for the tree and I always look forward to receiving that present in mid-December. She always chooses beautiful decorations and I love the idea that one day, when my flat’s big enough for a proper (read non-plastic) tree, I’ll have the most amazing array of ornaments that mean a lot to me to hang up. I’d love to continue this tradition when I have kids as it’s such a lovely one. {The pictures throughout this post are of some of my favourite ornaments}

I love the Christmas countdown and part of that is the fact that I get a cool advent calendar to open. My sisters and I have a cloth advent calendar with name tags in. When your name appears (eight times in the month) you get to choose a present from your mini stocking. There’s always a fabulous array of presents, from mini decorations to nail varnish, to candles to chocolate and it makes that countdown extra special. Plus the thought and care that goes into this (from my Mum) is immense. Definitely a tradition to continue I think.

The final thing that I want to continue long in to my old age with my own family is making Christmas ALL ABOUT FAMILY. I love that my family basically spends 48 hours together without seeing anyone else, put simply we just make the most of spending time together. We bring out the board games, barely watch the TV and sit in front of the fire and we all love it. That’s something I hope to one day instil into my own kids, the desire to just spend time together and not be needing to rush off to see other people after half a day.

What about you, what do you want Christmas traditions do you want to share in the future with your kids, or what are the traditions from your childhood that you’re already continuing with your own children? I’d love to know and I may even ‘borrow’ them for myself!