Another year has flipped by like a page in a book. We really had a great year. I love family traditions and we are still figuring out what ours are. I come from a family that really had no regular traditions. So, I've brought none to our relationship. The ones I suggest come mostly from things I've seen on TV. My husband comes from a family that loves traditions, so he doesn't have to worry about me fighting him on any suggestions. His mother loves traditions, and we (his parents, and bother and sister's families) all live within a few blocks from each other. So she suggests things for the whole family and we all do it together. That makes 2 grandparents, 5 couples, and 11 grandchildren, soon to be 14.
One of our regular traditons is the Christmas Tree Hunt. The friday after Thanksgiving is for shopping and the saturday after is for tree hunts. Jake and I actually have decided to do fake, pre-lit, but we still love to tree hunt for grandma's tree. We play in snow if there is some and we take a lunch, hot cocoa, some ATV's, a chainsaw, and of course an arsenal of guns(not for shooting the tree). Then we help grandma string popcorn and cranberries while watching it's a wonderful life or whatever other Chrismas show. She loves any and all of them, even the one's starring Steve Gutenberg.
This year we added some new traditions. First we always deliver treats to neighbors, but this year we decided to do it while caroling and on a hay ride. It snowed on us and we knew very few of the lyrics to entire songs. Also, we changed our annual Christmas eve party from great grampas house to grandmas house, so we had more control over the party activities. We had a nice dinner, the extended family exchanged gifts between cousins, kids, and granparents, we had the annual homemade pinata, and this year we added a live nativity play with the grandchildren (super cute). Also many of us (Jake and I included) decided to start a chrismas eve Pajama tradition.
Christmas Day was for the kids to open the gifts from us and from Santa. Jake gave me a gift that he kept at his mom's in order to completely surprise me (which he did.) He gave me a Vita mix blender which I have been talking about ever since the kids and I spent about a half an hour standing at the demonstration at Sam's Club. The demonstrator made smoothies, and soups, and ice cream and we just kept on eating. Seeing my kids slurp down a smoothie made with fruit, carrots, and cabbage and ask for more, sold me. Now I just have to buy some fruit and carrots and cabbage.
The holidays seem over now but we are still partying. Caleb was born on new year's eve, so I still have to decide how I want to do his birthday party and bring in the new year. Then in mid January we are doing a week long So. Cal. theme park tour with the whole family, the same 23 people minus his siter and brother in-law who do not have children yet. I don't think this will become an annual tradition, but it should be a lot of fun and offer a lot of memories. Or at least a lot of pictures and stories for posting.
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