Christmas is coming . . . traditions?

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Always has been. It has always been one of my favorite times spent with my family. We have created our share of unique Christmas traditions over the years. Everything from seeing how many puzzles we can do in our days together, to our version of Christmas Eve dinner, and one of my all time favorites "Christmas Crunch".

This year is going to be different. For the first time in my life I won't be having Christmas with my family in Meridian. We will be spending Christmas with Eric's family in Nebraska. While I am excited to spend some time with them and get to know them better, I will miss my family terribly and our funny Christmas traditions.

But this has got me thinking about Eric and I creating some Christmas traditions of our own. This being our first Christmas together I don't really know where to start. I have all my Christmas shopping done and Eric is almost done with his. Shopping together has been fun, interesting, but fun. Eric put up lights on the house, the decorations are put up all over, gifts are wrapped under the tree, so it seems like we are pretty much ready. Only a couple things left to do.

All I have left to ask is what kind of traditions do we want to have in our new family. I realize traditions tend to create themselves so we'll have to see what happens. My question for you is, what is your favorite Christmas Tradition?

It's coming up fast!

I have been so busy with work and everything else in my life that I didn't even realize that it was already November. I mean, I knew what the date was, but I didn't realize what it meant. Now all of the sudden it is November 13th and Thanksgiving is only two weeks away and Christmas is only six weeks away. The holidays totally snuck up on me.

Of course I didn't realize that until today. Granted I have thought about it a little bit, enough to think about getting a tree and buy my plane ticket home. But other than that . . . just put it off as if it was so far in the future

I spent a good portion of my day today tying bows for holiday decor projects for some clients. By the end of my day it looked as if Christmas had exploded in my office. And it got me thinking. I need to do some shopping . . . plan out my decorations at home . . . and maybe even think about doing some lights.


I am a true lover of all things Christmas, especially the lights. As a kid I loved to help my dad with the lights on the house. And now that I am all grown up I may even do some lights on my own house. I realize that I won't be able to do a lot this year, but I want to start making some of those purchases and get my Christmas decorations for my house started. And I really am kind of excited about it.

I'm Debating . . .

I know that this sounds a little bit early to be thinking about this, but it's me so I am.

Last year I closed on my house November 15th. The next two weeks were total chaos trying to get out of my apartment and get into the house and walls painted and everything. In the middle of all this I was covering a vacancy in my Northern office so was working crazy hours and commuting three hours a day. As I got into December things slowed down a little, but still I was just trying to get the house all situated. So the only holiday decorating that managed to happen was a wreath on the door and that was only because it was easier than taking it down to the basement and storing it.

Now, for those that know me well (especially my family) you know that I love Christmas lights, decorations, the whole works. Just not the blow up stuff for the front yard . . . that stuff gets pretty tacky.

Through college we always did some decorating for Christmas, but once I finished school I never did much cause I either had roommates and none of us would be around, or it was my own apartment and there wasn't space or last year where I was just to exhausted to deal with the whole mess.

But now . . . I am kind of out of excuses. That isn't to say that I can't come up with some. I won't be here for Christmas Day, no one is going to really see it, I don't want to tackle lights by myself, it is too expensive to buy the stuff, I can keep going . . .

Still . . . I think that I kind of want to go all out. Not too crazy but actually get and decorate a tree. Maybe a few lights out front. Maybe finally find a nativity set that I will love. It couldn't get too out of hand cause I don't have much money to spend on it, but still . . . I think I want to do something. Especially since I made really cute stockings last year and kind of want to display them.

Anyway . . . this is just me thinking . . . still not sure how it is all going to play out.