Christmas Traditions!

So as I was listening to the First Presidency's message, President Eyring was telling of how they acted out the Christmas story every year. This brought back childhood memories of my families Christmas traditions so I thought I would share some of our families traditions with you.

In Davids family they were allowed to open there stockings while they waited for everyone else to come by the tree. They would have waffles for breakfast, which also a Sunday morning tradition.

In my family on Christmas Eve, which ever older sibling was around they would bring there family over to my mom's house and they would get the rest of the siblings and the grandchildren to act out the Nativity. Someone would read it out of the Bible and the kids acted it out. My mom lived in Israel or Jerusalem and has some of the shawls and head dressings that they would wear so it was fun to dress up and look like the real thing. What ever we didn't have, a draped sheet was a good substitute. We all played a part. I remember playing Mary when I was younger and a Angel when I was older. That was a highlight of Christmas Eve. After that, we would sing Christmas carols and eat Christmas treats. Then in the morning we had to wait for the "okay" from mom, who was the present passer outer. While we waited we all got our stockings to see all the goodies and little presents we got like,toot brush, socks and we always got an orange.

Our traditions as a family are few but are fun. First we put up our tree and decorate it after Thanksgiving. We started collecting Disney Hallmark ornaments after we got married and we get a few every year. Now that we have Amelia and Bree they both have a First Christmas ornament, and we started letting Amelia pick out ornaments for her collection. Bree will start hers next year. (We also have some other fun misc ornaments that are not Disney.) I think doing a gingerbread house will be one of our new Christmas traditions for years to come. I will usually do a Christmas scene puzzle, but I think the Disney one that Amelia and David did will have to count for this year.

We got this Village the fist Christmas after we got married, and I still think it is perfect!!! It is one of my favorite decorations that we have. Amelia likes to help me set it up and hand me the elf's to put in the village.
Of course we put up our Nativity sets so that we will always remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas.
This year Amelia and Bree got this Fisher Price Nativity from Grandma and Grandpa Hill.(Thanks!!) Amelia is playing with it all the time.

We put the pretty ones where they won't be a temptations for little hands.

I hope you and your families will have a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

this year!!!