Tradition...

As the holidays approach we all look forward to the traditions that this season brings to the end of the year. For each of us that can mean something different. It's funny how some things become a tradition after the fact. For example the first year we were married I went to Michael's and bought a huge roll of brown paper to wrap all of our presents in. I wanted to do something simple and unique to set our gifts apart when we went to open presents with friends and family. I also did this because it was economical I spent about 5 bucks and change on that roll of paper and then bought some raphia to tie everything up with. Since that Christmas I have continued to wrap all of our gifts in brown paper. I just love how simplistic they look...I love the fact that they are simply understated as opposed to bold and flashy. (Nothing wrong with bold and flashy!) I just love the end result. Growing up in Andy's house his parents wrapped each child's gifts in a different wrapping paper so that they could easily identify who had what. This year we have the joy of starting some new traditions with AG. We are going to continue to wrap everything in brown paper but instead of using the same ribbon that I use on everyone else's presents I am going to wrap AG's in his own ribbon. Andy and I have talked about continuing to do this as our family grows and giving each child their own ribbon. (I've already started wrapping a few presents...once we get the tree up I'll post pics of everything.)

Another tradition that we are going to start with AG is one that my mom did with my sisters and me. With the birth of each child she created a box designated for "Katie's Ornaments" "Meghan's Ornaments" and "Caroline's Ornaments". (We even pulled ornaments out of our own boxes to create Misty her own box when she joined the family.) When we would make ornaments in school or receive ornaments she would place them in these boxes. Growing up we were allowed to pick ornaments out of our box to put on the tree. When I got married my mom gave me my box of ornaments to start my own tree. So, I've decided to take it one step further and purchase our children an ornament each year. This year I bought AG's first ornament while we were in Williamsburg back in August. In my collection I have a sheep that when you pull a cord his 4 limbs move up and down. I always put it on the family tree growing up and so when I found something similar in Williamsburg I had to buy it for AG. I'm looking forward to watching his collection grow over the years.

As for gifts for AG we are going to keep it simple by giving him three gifts from Mom and Dad. He'll also receive a big item from Santa. Growing up my parents did this with us and it was a great way to balance the true meaning of the season and the joyous fun of Santa Claus. Our Santa gifts were something to share amongst my sisters and I. However, due to the fact that AG is currently an only child he gets to keep his Santa gift to himself. :) I actually purchased his Santa present back in September...I found a ridiculously good deal on this Little Tikes Workshop at TJMaxx. I paid $41 including tax for it. I know its for an older child but it will be a fun toy to grow in to and at that price I couldn't pass it up!

Another thing tradition seeps in to is the way one decorates their home for Christmas. Since getting married I have enjoyed mixing things that Andy and I both had growing up with our own decorations. We have a paper chain in red and green construction paper that I put out every year because Andy made it in elementary school. His mom passed it to me when we got married. We had a wooden Rudolph that my mom use to set on the hearth growing up. My mom stopped using it when I was in high school and I asked for it...it now resides on our hearth. My sister-in-law, Caroline, started collecting a holiday village several years ago and it made me want to collect one but I didn't know what I wanted. She has the Department 56 Dickens Village...which I love but didn't want to copy. This year Williamsburg started a holiday village collection and I used my birthday money and a sale coupon to order this years pieces. They came in the mail the other day and I'm trying to decide the best place to put them. Caroline also gave Andy and I our first Christmas ornament. She had just started working at Starbucks at the time and gave us a Starbuck ornament. Every year since then she has given us an ornament or two...needless to say I have quite the collection now. She recently left Starbucks to be a stay-at-home mom to my sweet niece, Ronnie J. Anyways, I had to have this years ornaments and so I picked them up last week. They are hanging out in the dining room waiting on the Christmas Tree.

Speaking of the tree...growing up my parents would take us to a tree farm and we would cut down our tree. My father had this pair of green coveralls that he would wear every year. Even when the zipper broke he refused to let my mother throw them out--I believe he still has 'em even though they opted for an artificial tree some years back when we all left for college. We've been told that there is a great tree farm down the way from our house. So I think we are going to go investigate when our friends the Hornsbys cut down their tree. Should be fun to see Emma and AG at the tree farm together. The only thing that we need to consider is that we need a very tall tree because of the ceilings in our house. I don't know if they'll have tall enough trees but either way it will be a fun adventure. In years past I haven't decorated the bottom third of the tree so as not to tempt Samson...guess we'll continue the trend so as not to tempt AG either. I'm actually not worried about our tree falling over due to AG. The way our house is laid out it is very easy to block off the front of the house with the back of the house. Up till now we haven't even bought a baby gate...we are going to buy one this week so that we can block the doorway from the kitchen to the dining room. This way AG can look at the tree from the kitchen but not get a hold of anything. :)

Those are just a few of the things we are looking forward to doing with AG this year. I'm sure I will have more to post in the coming weeks. We are looking forward to doing some holiday traditions around town in the coming weeks...Christmas Parade down on Broad, Candles and Carols at Oak Hill, and maybe even a trip to Lenox to ride the Pink Pig.