I love starting traditions with JDaniel. I loved traditions growing up and have been waiting until he was old enough to understand what is happening at Christmas time to start some.
In my family growing up, there weren’t many traditions. My mom would set up a crèche. We would always have a crooked tree. (It didn’t matter if it was a real tree from a lot or one we cut down or an artificial tree from a box.)We opened one gift the night before Christmas. We visited with my dad’s mom on Christmas Day and would then load up the car and drive to my mom’s parents in New Jersey. We would arrive late at night and would have Christmas morning all over again the day after Christmas.
Since we spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, we always have my mom over for Christmas dinner. My husband has a friend come for dinner with us too. I try to make a wonderful Christmas dinner. We open presents that are under a two-foot tree due to my fears of JDaniel pulling down a tree and ornaments crashing everywhere. There are also small gifts in stockings hung by the mantle with the care that everyone gets to open.
This year I am finally ready to introduce some new traditions and maybe a full-size tree. We have put up the crèche, but this year two things are missing. Jesus has been put away and will make His appearance on Christmas Day. The shepherds are also missing. They will begin their journey to the manger on the far side of the house and will move slowly toward the living room where the crèche is located every couple of days. (Shepherds have to move slowly so they don’t lose their sheep.) They will arrive after dinner on Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
I really want JDaniel to understand that Christmas is about the birth of Christ and not just about great toys and beautiful lights so, following a wonderful Christmas meal I will be serving a birthday cake for Jesus. I hope we sing and rejoice in His birth the same way the shepherds and wise men did thousands of years ago.
What Christmas traditions do you have?
great ideas. this year we are doing an advent devotional tree…we put the first ornament on the tree this morning after we read today’s devotional and we/re going to make a birthday cake for Jesus too.
We open stockings on Christmas Eve and usually one present…then the rest Christmas morning.
Happy Advent season to you!
Sounds like a great tradition.
I love your excitement in starting you own traditions. I believe they are very important. I am your newest follower from Bloggy Moms Blog Hop. You can find me at http://mom-stuffcommunity.blogspot.com/
I love the idea of gradually putting the manger scene together!
That is a great idea to move the scene like that. He will love it!
I love the idea of moving the shepherds closer every day to the creche. My husband’s family always removed Jesus from the creche until after the Midnight Mass. They would come home, put Jesus in, and sing Happy Birthday to him. We hope to do the same with Georgia.
The ‘lack’ of the baby in the crib is quite difficult for children to understand. I love the nativity & miss it now that I’m retired from school.
When my children were young we always put Jesus in the manger on Christmas eve after we returned home from midnight Mass. Then we would allow them to open one gift before they went to bed. We would leave the tree up until “Little Christmas” – or Three Kings day.
What a great tradition…love that the shepherds are slowly making their way!
It’s wonderful to have traditions your family can look forward to every year.
I love the idea of putting Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. I’ve never been great at doing Traditions. I’m working on it and this year we’re doing Advent and fun Christmas activities. We do a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas morning and eat if for breakfast (the kids love that!)
We just all make sure to get together for some good food and toys for the little ones, of course!
10 days before Christmas Mary and Joseph begin their journey toward Bethleham, and the stable. I hide them somewhere in the house and my kids search for them. Then the next night they are slightly closer, etc. . .
I like your idea with the shepherds. . .must think on that one!
Great idea!
Mine disappears every year but not because he hasn’t been born yet. 😉
Following you back. All this holiday talk is making me anxious to start decorating!!!
What a fantastic idea. I love this. My little guys are 3 and 1, so it may be a little early for them. But we definitely talk about how Christmas is Jesus’ birthday and how He came to earth to save us so one day we can live with Him. Precious…
That’s a wonderful tradition to have with your boy! The only tradition we have is going to mid-night mass before my dad died, but I still remember the good time.
Wow, you have a lot of really great traditions! Most of my family aren’t Catholic or Christian so they don’t know much about the reason for Christmas, which is why we don’t have any traditions similar to yours. My immediate family and I use to attend mass at midnight on Christmas Eve to welcome Jesus to the world though. Unfortunately, as we got older, that tradition faded away. I hope that one day I can share some tradition with my daughter the same way you have started sharing yours with JDaniel.
I loved this post. What wonderful wonderful traditions you are sharing with your family.
When my children were small we did so many…one of my all time favorites, though, was reading each night from a book called “A Story a Day Until Christmas”. There were religious stories, and poetry, and fanciful tales…it was a magical time for us each night.
Thank you for linking to Alphabe-Thursday.
This was a joyous stop today.
A+
When I read the title, I was assuming someone wandered off with Jesus. I assumed that because Mary went missing last year from our nativity, and I found her last May under a dresser. Thankfully, she has been reunited with her family this year, lol!
Since I am married (41 years) we always had put up Mr. G’s crèche from Italy. This year Joseph is missing, but you have to read that on my blog.
In Germany everybody sticks very much to Christmas traditions. What I had as a child, I did the same with our son and probably he will do the same now with his little new born.
I really like this idea. I’d heard the one about Jesus before and loved it, but the idea of moving the shepherds slowly through the house, towards the manger scene, is pretty neat, too!
=)
Very special Christmas Tradtions to pass on to your son. We are Tradtional Christmas Family, too, and it’s been so much fun with Jackson this year. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
THAT is one fantastic tradition! You’re really going to make him see the reality of the occasion and I think that’s awesome. You’re a very clever mom.
By the way, since the children were born, we have always wired the tree to the wall behind it so no toppling is possible. And I mean the one we have up right now is wired as well. Teenagers are big klutzes.
Love the idea of moving the shepherds. My friend always removes her “kings” and places them somewhere else in the room, since they didn’t actually arrive until 2 years later. 🙂 Go for a full tree this year! Every little kid needs to experience the magic of sitting under a fully lit tree!
It sounds like you are beginning some lovely Christmas traditions for you family! This year, we are going to our newly married daughter’s house for Christmas — I look forward to seeing how she has decided to celebrate, and what traditions she has decided to continue.
Oh! I really love that tradition!! It certainly makes the point : )Enjoy making new family traditions!!
My mom always did that when we were growing up, but I really haven’t explained it yet to my girls.
Oh what great ideas you have to introduce the meaning of Christmas and to start your own traditions.
Reading your post made me reflect back, and your childhood Christmas sound so much like mine was, but we didn’t even have a crèche in the house.
One of our granddaughters is really into tradition, and it makes us so happy!
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You are starting a tradition & memories that your son will take with him as he makes his own journey through life. Advent Calenders are always a good choice too as the children grow.
Have to say I was also wondering what had happened to Baby Jesus…a dear friend of mine had a clever kitty who would take Baby Jesus out of the creche every Christmas and hide it…He was the only figure the kitty ever took…year after year…
I think it is wonderful that you honor both your families on the holidays and the special Christmas traditions that you are beginning with Daniel are very special. Too often, we get all caught up in the present and gift buying thing and forget the true meaning of Christmas. Daniel will really learn to cherish this, I think, and pass it along to his own children.
I just told my daughter about this idea. We LOVE it and just may have to add it to our tradition. Thank you so much for sharing it.
We don’t really have any traditions but I am starting some this year.
I got a Navity yesterday (Fisher Price Little People but at least no danger of damage or breakage on concrete floors)and the boys are loving playing with it.
Each night we are following a Christmas bible verse based on an Advent calendar I found it at ‘be a fun mum’ with an attached craft or activity too.
I love the birthday cake idea.
My other tradition is new P’js on Christmas eve.
We did the same – no baby Jesus until Christmas Eve!!! We don’t have a creche yet (ooops), will have to sort one out ASAP
Very seasonal J for Alphabet Thursday 😉
Maggy x
I really like that idea of not having Jesus in the manger until Christmas day! Why didn’t I ever think of that?
I like your ideas for starting a tradition. I feel we too need to do more to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas. We may try this.
(part of the Blog Frog mom loop)
What a great idea about the cake. We are hoping to start some new traditions in the next few years since we have Sweet T. Up until now we’ve just kind of done whatever. One thing we do is have fried shrimp on Christmas Eve since it’s both mine and Hubs favorite dish. 🙂
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I Love what you are doing with your crèche . I also didn’t grow up with many traditions but am trying grow and build on with my kids. We decorate a gingerbread house every year, visit the large Christmas displays in the city with my husbands family, open one gift on Christmas eve, wander the local streets looking at the houses all adorned and trying hard to not make Christmas too material or commercial!
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I’ve never done a birthday cake, but I think it’s a great idea. So often we end up traveling for Christmas that I’ve rarely had the opportunity to think about starting traditions to do things at home. Stopping from the Mom Loop!
The birthday cake for Jesus is a wonderful idea!
Peace and joy,
Su-sieee! Mac
J is for Joy of Christmas
It sounds like you’re going to have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy the season!
Midnight Mass has always been a tradition in our family. My mother was the choir director when I was growing up and every year she would sing Oh Holy Night and it was wondrous!
Lovely post!!!
Thank you!
Coralie
Blogger just ate my comment. GAH! It was well thought out. Now you’re left with this.
We’re unconventional and have no set traditions around the holidays.
Traditions are so important! Your handling of the manger scene and the birthday cake are wonderful!