I don’t like leaving anyone out! I wish everyone a happy holiday!
The Devlin family celebrated yesterday. Two of the grands’ visitation schedules with their other families collided with Christmas, so my dd asked Santa for a favor. He dropped gifts early morning Christmas Eve.
There’s nothing more fun than sending kids early to bed, then listening to them whisper.
“Shhh. We have to go to sleep or Santa won’t come.”
An acorn fell on the metal roof and rattled to the ground.
“Shhhh! Santa’s on the roof!”
My quick-thinking dd did a muffled “Ho-Ho-Ho!” And there was dead-silence. Ten minutes later, we checked. Everyone was snoring.
My daughter loves Christmas. Loves the Elf-on-the-shelf, the German traditions we brought home—St. Nicklaus morning when he leaves coal or a gift in a shoe to forewarn them how Christmas will be and the countdown advent calendar with its candies or small gifts they get every morning leading up to Christmas. Next year, we’re adding the Christmas spider to the tree.
She asked me, “What will we do when they stop believing?”
“You’ll tell them exactly what I told you—‘Santa stops coming when you stop believing.’ How old were you when you said you didn’t believe?”
“Mom, I never told you I don’t.”
“Exactly.”
I hope you all have your lovely Christmas traditions. Things you have to do or disappoint your family. Christmas isn’t supposed to be easy. It’s work. It’s time to reflect. It’s a celebration—whatever your beliefs—and children, if you have them, make it precious.
Do you have special rituals? Things your family does that if you skipped, someone would notice and complain? We’re doing our Christmas dinner early afternoon today. That date we couldn’t move. 🙂
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Happy Holidays to you and your family, Delilah! Our family is gradually shrinking but we do still try to touch bases with each other. I am a horrible procrastinator, so things don’t always happen on THE day…but we mark it somehow, it helps that many of us are online, thank goodness for e-cards, lol.
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We go to midnight mass every Christmas eve, that never changes. I have two children one is 12 and one is 8 and they still believe because like you I tell them them if you stop believing you don’t know what will happen!!! We always bake together and decorate gingerbread houses.
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Merry Christmas to you and your family. We all get together at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve. Everyone brings a small white elephant gift and then we play the dice game. The kids love it when they can steal gifts from the adults. Also, someone always gets coal. This year it was my brother, because his grandson told my mom my brother wouldn’t eat the cookies she baked for him.
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Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas! We are starting new traditions since we retired to Florida a year ago. We have no children so we spend time with family and friends who live in the same community we do. Today we had a lovely dinner at our clubhouse and tonight we went to the movies. It was a wonderful day here in paradise.
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We also had conflicts so we had our Christmas night. The granddaughter had a blast. We do the Elf on the shelf. Well, the Elf got a Leather jacket and goggles. I told the granddaughter he had gotten ready to fly back to the North Pole she was thrilled!!! In our family its a known fact when you stop believing Santa quits coming…my grandmother told me that and I have believed her ever since and I taught my son that. Now I am teaching my granddaughter the same thing!!!!
Merry Christmas to all!!!! Happy Holidays to all who don’t celebrate Christmas!!!