Traditions Old and New

As a person who craves routine, one of my favorite parts of the holidays is the traditions associated with it. The rituals one breaks out only once a year, but you look forward to all year long in eager anticipation. And then when you start a family and have children of your own, the question becomes what traditions do you keep and what do you create to call your very own?

I grew up creating paper chains with one ring for each day prior to Christmas and pulling a ring off for every day complete. Christmas eve always found us carefully putting out cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for hungry reindeer, then opening one present from Mom and Dad before bed. We never traveled on Christmas day, always waking up in our own home for Santa Claus couldn't possibly find us anywhere else. Jingle bells would be scattered by the fireplace, left behind by reindeer taking off in flight. Bites out of those cookies and carrots.  The day after Christmas, we always packed up and headed south to the Boston area for a big family fete and celebrate all over again.

My husband also smiles remembering his own traditions. His Christmas eves were filled with  fun casual family pizza dinners. And then the ritualistic placing of the cookies and milk for Santa. He and his sisters also never traveled on Christmas day for that ever fear that Santa wouldn't possibly know where to deliver those gifts. Waking at the first light to half-eaten cookies and half-drunk glasses of milk, sure evidence that St. Nick had paid visit to his house and not just mine. And for him, there was always a nap stolen post opening of the presents from the exhaustion of getting up so early in excitement.

So now we fuse our traditions. It hasn't been challenging, since we tend to agree so much on parenting style to begin with. We'll spend Christmas eve eating pizza, and now that the oldest is two, watching the Polar Express and then reading the Night Before Christmas. We've chased that Elf all around those Shelves for a couple weeks now and I'm confident he's told Santa what the whole house wants at this point. We'll set out our cookies and milk and enjoy nibbles while we set up a magical scene for babies and toddlers to feast their eyes on come morning. We'll mix glitter and oatmeal for the two year old to scatter in the lawn and driveway so the reindeer have food and a trail to follow to the chimney. (Why leave such things to chance?)   Naturally, there will be no travel and we'll host both sides of the family, enjoying these traditions and more with them now and for years to come.

With these new traditions comes the main cast of characters, our three children. How much fun the years forward are going to be. We hope this phase of Christmas lasts forever, for it will be a sad day when it ends.

Merry Christmas All! See you on the 26th.

The Annual Argument

There is an argument that occurs yearly in our home.  Twice this month in fact.  However, it's an argument I'd bet the mortgage and then some that it happens in each household on our block annually; never mind the rest of middle-class America. I am talking the Christmas card photo shoot.  You are all nodding as you read this.  You know how ugly it can get.  Like in your husband just informed you that you can't attend the semi-annual shoe sale at Nordstrom ugly. A perfectly civil and ordinary custom can cause a lovely married couple to actually NOT speak for the 12 days of Christmas.


We lived it twice in my house for 2010. Hopefully we will laugh about it in 2011.  The first time I was so excited, the anticipation of our coordinated silly outfits - Christmas jammies by Hanna Andersson -  sitting under the stocking as a family of five for the first time; quickly disappeared as our two year old threw a tantrum of epic proportions over putting on the jammies, fearing it was bedtime long before he was ready.  My husband, a photographer, testing the babies' patience with lighting and test shots. Harsh words exchanged between parents and we hadn't taken nary a photograph.  Finally all the kids dressed and our two year old cooperated by being allowed to be the "expert" button pusher on the camera for the evening. Of course, being ever the woman, I hated half the photos without cause and the half I liked created the annual argument as my husband was upset over one or both babies not looking at the camera.  Meh, I feel, as they are infants. You win some and you lose some in that category and we should be concentrating the happy child efforts on the two year old. But my husband was equally passionate about that fight.  Then there was the battle over whether the shot should be a close-up of the family or wide and include background.  The list went on as long as the final Harry Potter novel.  I thought we had settled on a picture and to my surprise on the day I asked my husband for the photo to be printed out.... I was informed of the need for a RESHOOT.  He had changed his mind and decided he couldn't live with any of the pictures we had taken. Photographers. Sheesh. 


So, today we reshot.  The test shots and light balancing done well ahead of time, babies fed and happy.  Our two year old napped and rested.  We even told him his "Elf on A Shelf" wanted a picture of the family to take to Santa Claus tonight and would he please get dressed? Piece O' Cake.  World's Best Timer Boy? Check!  Argument over the number of shots to be taken and babies looking up?  Right on time!  Turns into stomping, sulking adults.  It's so silly and serious at the same time.   One photo that will represent your family to the world for next year.  You want it to be perfect of course, and one's passions don't cave easy.  We've since compromised and are quite pleased with the our results based on only a one hour standoff, Part Deux.  


But on this seemingly strange annual argument, can't we all get along?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Every morning our two year old wakes up with a ridulous level of excitement to rush around the house to find the Elf on a Shelf. He named him "Magic", you see. Because Magic, after all, is what the holidays are about.  Magic is what is going to take Magic the Elf back to the North Pole every night to tell Santa Claus that he wants a bouncy ball and a rocket.  Magic is what makes our two year old ideally have less tantrums and spend less time in time out; while the elf watches his behavior daily to report back each night to Santa Claus. Magic is what makes his being patient with our eight month old twins, his little brothers, so worthwhile currently.

Magic is also what keeps me from not losing it in the Target lines this month. From freaking out on our drycleaner who destroyed my dress two days ago with the cleaning solution. Magic is hanging the stocking over the chimney with care and patiently untangling all the lights from years past.  Magic is making 8 dozen Christmas cookies to put in the freezer. Magic is the forced smile and tears trying to corral all three small children for the perfect photo for the card that no one really reads, but you know you sent anyway. Magic is letting the lady with two small children and 1 item go in front of you in said Target line.

Magic is knowing that despite all threats to the contrary, your husband will not become an endangered species if the lights are not hung this weekend because you really do love him madly (although you may not speak for a week). Because Magic is also wanting to see and hear your two year old "ooooh" and "ahhhhh" over the lights for the very first time. Magic is decorating the tree with care, wrapping the gifts and giggling with glee.

YEs, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  And it's just Magical around here.