CHEER: TRADITIONS PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

I think one of the things that makes the holidays so special is the traditions surrounding them. Traditions can make beautiful memories, they can be something passed down from older generations, or made up. They can be serious or random and silly, which tend to by my favorite. ;) If you asked my friends if I was a traditional type of person they would most likely tell you no...they would probably say that I like making things my own and tend to lean away from tradition. However, when it comes to family and deep friendships, I love the traditions that can be created around them, especially during Christmastime.

For day 7 of Christmas Cheer I'll be sharing some of my favorite traditions; past, present and future. See Jenny's traditions on her blog later this evening!

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P A S T
* Growing up, every Christmas morning we had to stay in our beds until our parents woke us up. We would always wake up SUPER early and be so excited about Christmas morning. Sometimes my little brother and sister would sneak into my room and we would all wait together in our PJs anticipating the moment. In order to wake us up, my dad would turn on Christmas music as loud as possible and scream, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!". That was our cue to run downstairs. That is one of my favorite memories. My dad still does it now even though my parents are nearly empty-nesters. ;)
* On Christmas Eve, instead of having a huge, fancy meal, my family would order pizza and buy a couple of different sodas. This is not often revealed to others, but while enjoying our pizza, we would have a burping contest. Classy, huh? ;) I never won, but my mom and sister are the reigning champs.
* The night before Christmas, we would all snuggle together and watch a Christmas movie. Before I got married, the traditional movie was The Polar Express. After watching the movie, my dad would read about the birth of Jesus in the Bible and then tell us to head to bed. I might have been the only teenager that could hardy sleep on Christmas night and CONSTANTLY had Christmas dreams!!

P R E S E N T
* Now that I've been married for nearly three years, Jon and I have begun building our own traditions during the holidays. One thing we started doing was dedicating all of Christmas Eve to being together. We make a yummy breakfast, watch Christmas movies, go out to eat and late at night open gifts from each other. This is our special time to be together, just the two of us. :)
* On Christmas morning, we drive over to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with my family and then after lunchtime, we head over to his parents' house to celebrate Christmas with them. I love that his family and my family are only 5 minutes apart!
* My mother-in-law is fabulous at giving gifts and wrapping them! When I first started dating Jon, I always admired how beautiful her gifts looked. They were all wrapped so delicately and had ornaments and big bows all over. Every year for the past couple years, we've gone wrapping paper shopping together. We grab a coffee and hit the stores looking for our favorite gift wrapping "look" for the season. I love how it motivates me to spend time wrapping and making our gifts look snazzy.

F U T U R E
* One day, when Jon and I decide to start a family, I would love to start a tradition of building a tent on the first night we put up our tree and camping out in the living room. We'll watch Christmas movies, drink cocoa, and tell stories. I can't wait. :)
* I would love to celebrate Advent with our Children. Create activities and read stories to go along with it to help them learn and enjoy Christmas. I think it would be fun to make our own Advent decorations each year.
* The night before Christmas, I would love for my family to open one present and that present be a pair of fancy PJs. Everyone can put on their PJs and we'll all cuddle up and watch a Christmas movie together before sending them to bed. I think I might like to wake them up like my parents did for me as a kid too. :)

I'm looking forward to creating more traditions with my husband and even more when we start a little family. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions??

Tomorrow is baking day! Jenny and I are getting together early in the morning to bake some cookies to give out for Christmas. I'm for sure breaking out the aprons! ;)