The Magic of Christmas.....

 There are so many amazing Christmas traditions we have as a family, and each year, we start new ones. I have to say that I believe I have the most amazing family, and Christmas has always meant something... BIG to us. It means spending time with family, making some amazing food, remembering loved ones passed, cherishing the time we have together, making cookies, admiring our tree, remembering why its called CHRISTmas, being thankful for what we have. As I spend the first Christmas as a married woman, joined together with my best friend, I realize that I am so happy to have this time together, and so excited to make memories and traditions of our own...
Here are some of the traditions we have with our family.... share them, use them and tell me some of your traditions...

1. Go to a Christmas tree lot (all 14 of us!!) the day after Thanksgiving, hunt for the most special tree, and cut it down ourselves
2. Watch a different Christmas movie as many times a week as time will allow
3. Have a Christmas cooking baking party, where the women get together and make - A TON of Christmas cookies, so we all get to take different cookies home with us!
4. Give our parents a special Christmas ornament every year
5. Fry a turkey! Until you've done it, you will never know how addicting fried turkey is!
6. Watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation while decorating the family tree
7. The adult kids (me, my hubby and my brother) stay the night at my parents on Christmas Eve, and wake up on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought, just as if we were little kids!
8. My dad boils the giblets Christmas morning so it smells like baked turkey all over the house!
9.  Since there are no little kids (yet!), we draw names and each stuff a stocking for someone in the family
10. Hot chocolate bar! With all the fixings - Crock pot hot chocolate, peppermints, marshmallows while we decorate the tree
11. My Dad makes his FAMOUS biscuits and gravy for Christmas morning breakfast! Or, he makes the breakfast casserole that I have posted on this blog - AMAZING!
12.  At one of our family Christmas parties, my parents make the ever so famous Swedish meatballs that my Grandmother used to make. Since she is no longer with us, it makes us feel like a part of her is still here....
13. Deliver a tin of Christmas goodies to our wonderful neighbors - I got a few hugs from it this year and these are new neighbors since we just moved here!
14. Put some money into the Salvation Army buckets around town - and make sure to tell the ringers how thankful we are for their service!

*Now, it seems there are many more, but I want to hear from you as well! Tell me what your most favorite Christmas traditions are, and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”
― Bob Hope