Storybook Advent

This year I went to the library and checked out loads of Christmas story books. I wrapped them all up and put them in a box under the tree; an idea I got from Chris. Each night we unwrap and read one book for a bedtime story. My three-year-old loves the anticipation of what book she will get. My one-year-old loves unwrapping. In fact, he usually unwraps a book in the morning and another in the afternoon. I have a lot of extras, so I don’t mind. And it is really gearing him up for Christmas morning. He will know exactly what to do.

What I will do different next year: I will wrap long stories and short stories in different colors of wrapping paper. This way I can influence the pick towards a shorter book on nights where the kids need to be in. bed. NOW. As it is, I am left skipping pages. And that just doesn’t feel Christmassy.

Creating Traditions

Yesterday I asked a friend if she had any fun Chirstmas traditions with her kids. She was hard pressed to think of any. She said she wanted to have traditions but didn’t know what to do. This is so far from my own problem. I have many memories from my childhood of things we did every single year. Memories I want to continue making with my own kids. My problem is consistency. I don’t remember from one year to the next what we actually did, what worked and what needed some tweaking. This blog will chronicle our attempts at blending, perfecting and creating new family traditions. I hope it will also be a resource for people looking for ideas of where to start.