Search Results for: blog christmas traditions

Recycling Your Christmas Tree

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve and it is time for out with the old and that includes your live Christmas tree.  I love live trees because they smell so good, but then there is always the question of what to do with it when you are done. Of course, you could always just put it on the side of the curb for trash pickup, but aren’t there some better, greener solutions? There are! First, many communities are now offering Christmas tree recycling pick-ups.  And, if your community doesn’t offer pick-up, they may at least have a location you can take … Continue reading →

It’s Christmas!

The countdown to Christmas is on and parents the world over are feeling the heat. With Santa coming to town in just a few days, St. Nick’s mom and dad helpers are scurrying to prepare for his arrival.  Around here that means stocking up on stocking stuffers. One seasonal surprise my 8-year-old will be waking up to on December 25th is a delightful book filled with festive poems. It’s Christmas is a collection of whimsical prose that are silly, sweet and perfect for the season. Author Jack Prelutsky does a phenomenal job of making merry with his hilarious takes on … Continue reading →

Finding the True Meaning of Christmas

My 8-year-old has a severe case of the Christmas gimmies.  Unfortunately, I have myself to blame for her very unmerry malady. Whereas I am by no means showering the kid with pre-holiday presents, I haven’t been doing a very good job focusing on the “reason for the season” either. I’ve been swept into the chaotic tsunami that is the month of December.  Gifts to buy, wrap and mail; cookies to bake, decorate and distribute; cards to take photos for, write and stamp; and the list goes on and on. As a parent, it’s easy to get caught up in the … Continue reading →

Creating Thankful Traditions All Year Round

We often think of the Christmas season as a time to celebrate family. Thanksgiving is our time to be thankful. Valentine’s Day is a day to show love. Of course, while it’s good to have particular seasons and special days to celebrate these things, you can feel and show all of these emotions all year round! Whether you follow a particular religion or not, creating traditions of thankfulness is important. As many of us head off to sales, it’s a good time to stop and remember all that we have. The economy can be tight, and finding a job can … Continue reading →

Holiday Traditions

Each family has its own unique set of holiday traditions. Whatever the traditions in your family, it is likely that you can look back through the years and see how certain things became a part of what your family does. For example, my father’s side of the family has always gotten together on Christmas Eve. I think that this tradition started when my cousins and I were born because each set of new parents had two sets of grandparents to include in their Christmas visiting schedule. Instead of trying to have each set of cousins make it to two sets … Continue reading →

Some Kids With Autism May Not Understand Christmas

In general, kids who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have difficulty with social concepts. Many kids with an ASD can be extremely logical in their thought processes. Together, this can make it hard for them to understand the connections between Santa, Christ, and the Christmas traditions that most families participate in. Every year, there are a lot of little kids who are excited by the prospect of Santa coming to their house on Christmas Eve. Parents tell their children about Santa, and the youngest kids believe with all their hearts that Santa is real. When they get … Continue reading →

The Best Tradition of Christmas: Being Together

Christmas traditions in my family have changed over the years. When the kids were little, we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Now they receive money ahead of time and get to spend it however they wish. My youngest spends it as soon as it touches his fingers, my daughter waits until she can get to the mall and my oldest holds onto it for a while. Another tradition we had when they were younger was to read stories like “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Now we play games like Uno, Apples to Apples or Catch Phrase. We used to … Continue reading →

Storing Christmas Wrapping

It’s snowing wrapping paper, or at least it’s about to be. Every Christmas, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the stuff. After present-opening, one of my favorite Christmas traditions as a child was rummaging through the bags, boxes, and bits of wrapping paper to decide what I would keep. Yes, I guess I’m a natural scavenger, although I prefer to call it upcycling.As an eco-minded and budget-minded person, I hate to see these items go to waste. It is in this spirit that I suggest that you too go through the bags and boxes and paper and decide what you … Continue reading →

Not-So-Merry Christmas Traditions

According to my 7-year-old, the Grinch could take lessons from me on how to ruin Christmas. So, without further ado, here are just some ways to have an un-Merry Christmas: Lesson #1: No one in the house gets to open presents on Christmas morning until he/she eats at least a few bites of the special holiday breakfast Mommy lovingly prepares. Lesson #2: All family members must pose for at least one photo in front of the tree while wearing Christmas pajamas prior to ripping into holiday loot. Lesson #3: One (and only one) gift can be opened on Christmas Eve. … Continue reading →

Our First Christmas

When I think back to this week I always refer back to the joy and happiness of my first Christmas as a Mom. I remember Steve who was 3 lying under the tree looking up at the lights. There was many nights that we would get up to check on the kids and the Christmas tree would be on and Steve was just curled up under it like our cat does. I know that he had a very hard young life and so we wanted this to be an absolutely amazing Christmas for him. I will admit we did go … Continue reading →