We have a plethora of Christmas Eve traditions in our household and we're looking forward to enjoying them all this year.
The first tradition is a new take on an old favorite of Brian's. When he was a kid he would watch "Santa Watch" on the local news stations. This was a program for kids keeping them up to date on the whereabout of Jolly Old St. Nick. He has such fond memories of this as a kid that when our kids were old enough he tried to introduce them to it ... only to find out that they no longer do it. But we were able to find a substitute at www.santawatch.com. All day Christmas Eve the kids look forward to the hourly reports and videos of Santa's journey.
We spend some time on Christmas Eve watching Christmas movies too. My personal favorite is the 1995 version of "Miracle on 34th Street". Other favorites are "Polar Express" and the Jim Carrey version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." We'll be sure to watch one or two of those on Christmas Eve.
After lunch on Christmas Eve I always remind the kids that Santa won't be leaving presents for girls and boys with dirty bedrooms. He wants to see that the kids are being responsible and cleaning up after themselves. This means they all have some work to do and spend an hour or two (or three) making their rooms spick and span. This is the only time each year when I can get them to clean their room without delay. LOVE that!
Every Christmas Eve we load up in the van with whoever is over visiting (I think it might be my Dad this year) and drive around town looking at all the Christmas lights. This is one of those traditions that started way back when we had little children and no money. It's something we've carried on since then.
Right before heading to bed we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." In previous years we've all cuddled on the couch in the shadow of our glittering Christmas tree and either Brian or I have read it. This year we've decided to let the kids do some reading too. I'm looking forward to having the kids read it this year.
1 comment:
We haven't been good about maintaining traditions as we're still finding out what we want to do. You've got some great ones!
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