I am the biggest kid – I love Christmas, with it’s true meaning of the birth of Jesus, but also all the magic and joy it brings, especially now that I have children of my own, and they are both at that age where Christmas is truly wondrous to them.
This got me to thinking about all the little traditions that my hubby and I have built up over the years and truly mean Christmas to us and thought I would share some of them with you…
1. Decorations
Obviously the majority of us put up Christmas decorations, but since moving into our own home we aim to put them up on the 1st December. Sometime it’s a bit earlier now, since having the children, we put them up on the weekend before the 1st so that the children can enjoy them for a couple of days before having to be at school or nursery.
The only thing is that I am not very good at sharing my Christmas decorations with my children, my tree has to be a specific way (ok, ok, I am a control freak), so they magically go up over night and are there for the children to smile at in awe in the morning!
This tradition has be going for years! This started with my brothers (possibly before I would born) – my dad tried to do spray snow and it went rather wrong, so my brothers took over by literally drawing Christmas pictures on the windows with a marker pens and painting with poster paint.
As my brothers got older my sister and I took over – my sister does all the drawings, she’s very talented. We thought we’d stop when we left home – but this hasn’t been the case. Since I’ve moved I have booked a day with my sister each year so that she can draw my windows and I can paint them! It’s good fun…
3. Films
My husband and I have built up quite a collection over the years, which include:
All three Santa Clause movies (firm favourite in our household)
Miracle on 34th Street (brings a tear to my eye every year)
Die Hard (yippee kay yay…)
A Christmas Carol (with Patrick Stewart)
A Muppet Christmas Carol (there goes Mr Humbug, there goes Mr Grim…)
Love Actually (Love actually is all around)
Trading Places (Mortimer, your brother’s ill…)
Home Alone (We forgot Kevin)
Polar Express (we used to watch this every year at the iMax prior to having kids, now we all sit on the sofa under a blanket and watch it together as a family – much loved in our home!)
Due to the joy of Sky+ we’ve also watched
Santa Paws 2
The Grinch who Stole Christmas (much better than I was expecting)
Naughty or Nice
Elf (thought it was ok but it’s not a favourite)
Arthur Christmas (Again, ok)
Saving Santa (It’s a good one)
A Christmas Princess
Many a soppy lovey dovey Christmas, “oh my gosh they have to get together” film
I’m sure that there have been many more!!!
I haven’t seen It’s A Wonderful Life – I really must watch this! It’s a Christmas resolution!
4. Christmas countdown
This has been a new one for 2015. My daughter was bought a Christmas Countdown and I have been doing a festive photograph each day and sharing on my Instagram!
5. Christmas Eve Mass
I am a practicing Catholic and so I go to mass every (ok, most) Sundays, but Christmas Eve Mass has become a lovely tradition since having the kids. Before the kids, and when I was bit older, I used to go to midnight mass with my parents, but now we’re at our parish, which is St Lawrences on Sidcup High Street, they do a lovely family mass on Christmas Eve where the kids can go in fancy dress, as an Angel, Shepherd, Wiseman, Mary, Joseph or even a Sheep if they want to. It’s really lovely and a great start to the Christmas celebrations.
This is something I started in 2013 and not something my Hubby was initially particularly keen on! He kindly humoured me and wore what I would describe as a subtle Christmas jumper that first year – while mine and the kids were good and cheesy.
Christmas 2014 he joined in quite happily, and will again this year, so he’s now the proud owner of a jumper with a giant reindeer on the front and bells. The kids are always happily decked out in festive jumpers – and my son usually has a festive shirt too as he gets rather hot in a jumper!
This year I am little too excited that I will be wearing something a little different – a Christmas swing dress which I got from my much loved Joe Browns
7. Father Christmas & Pizza Express
Since our Pink One has been old enough to understand the concept of Father Christmas we book to see Father Christmas at Ruxley Garden Centre. It’s just so much fun, though I must admit the actual reality doesn’t always measure up to my rose tinted idea of how the magical event should happen! There was one year when we took the Pink One and the Blue One (who was now walking and talking) had a great big argument which ended up in a full blown tantrum and everyone going home grumpy and miserable.
Fortunately the last two years have been much better – as we’ve gone with my sister and her family and the cousins get on so well. We also go to Pizza Express, which my two always love!
8. Christmas Music/CD
As soon as it’s December it’s Christmas tunes in the car all the way! My Hubby has created some great play lists – I have three festive CDs in the car – love them all.
We also have A Christmas Carol on CD which is narrated by Patrick Stewart, which I absolutely adore. Many moons ago, pre-children, my husband took me to see Patrick Stewart do his one man show of A Christmas Carol and it was amazing. I have never heard a theatre audience so quiet and mesmerised, considering there was just one man on stage, but he encapsulated every character so well – it was phenomenal!
Jog on Mum 