Christmas Traditions

I'm baaaaack!

I have been on a hiatus from the blogging world. I have been too tired in the evenings to write posts and we have been running around on the weekends. However, I sat down this weekend and put some thoughts together!

Today, I am talking about our Oman family Christmas traditions. Traditions are so important to me. I feel like these are the things are kids will look back at and remember about this time of year. I hope that they will continue to do some of these things with their kids or come home and still do them with Dan and I.

One of the first things we do after Thanksgiving each year is bake Christmas goodies. My sister, Beth, and I always do this together. My mom often comes as well and sometimes my sister-in-law, Kiona will join us! We do about a day and a half of baking and are always trying new things. Our favorite is our sugar cookies. We are biased but we think our recipe is top notch...hint: it involves a fair dose of almond extract (that makes everything taste good, right?). Before Thanksgiving, Jaxon asked me when we were baking the sugar cookies this year. He told me it is one of his favorite things about Christmas time!

Elfie comes to our house after Thanksgiving. We are not very creative with Elfie. I have actually designated Dan as officially in charge of Elfie. Let's be real, he doesn't do a whole lot for Christmas so I feel like this is one thing he can handle. However, we need to start setting an alarm to move Elfie each night. Elfie always brings them Christmas pajamas when he shows up and then at some point brings a North Pole breakfast to them (powdered donuts aka 'snowballs'). I actually found this graphic that we are using for ideas this year!

Our next tradition is to drive around and look at Christmas lights. In Fargo, one of the parks has a light display from businesses each year. Our plan for the night always goes like this: put on Christmas pajamas (yes, Dan and I do, too), stop at Starbucks, go to Lindenwood Park in Fargo, and then drive around a few different neighborhoods to look at lights. The kids always end up falling asleep and it is peaceful for Dan and I to check out the different displays.

Another tradition we began is we have a seafood feast sometime before Christmas. This is on the agenda for next weekend. It consists of crab legs and shrimp. The boys absolutely love crab legs. For a few years, we went to Red Lobster but Dan has fine tuned it himself so we enjoy a seafood night at home. After our seafood feast, we always do gingerbread house decorating. I definitely buy the kits and extra candy. Each kiddo does their own house.

We usually visit Santa at our local fire hall. This year, we went to a Christmas carnival and saw Santa there as we will likely have a basketball tournament this year while Santa is the fire hall. The kids do look forward to this as well.

Last year

Something that is very important to me is that our family gives back during the Christmas season. Growing up, my family would go to nursing homes. We dressed as Santa, Mrs. Claus, and elves. We gave cheap little gifts to all the residents but it something I will always remember. Last year, we rung the Salvation Army bell. While that was inspiring, we had a difficult time finding a time that would work for us this year. Instead, we give to a few organizations and also pick names off of giving tree's. The kids have a lot of fun shopping for the gifts. While Christmas is joyful in our family, I want my kids to understand that this is often a difficult and stressful time for many families. It is also eye opening to them (and results it lots and lots of questions) to realize there are a lot of kids in their school that do not get Christmas presents.

Other things that we do: church, Christmas programs, family game night, lots of Christmas books, read Jesus' birth story from the Bible, and usually get together with our friends (framily) for a Christmas party.

Our final tradition is home. Each Christmas, we spend time back in our hometown with our extended families. This time is precious. This time is fun. And, this is what my kids will always remember about Christmas.

Last years pictures...

I love hearing all about traditions, PLEASE share yours in the comments!!