Traditions Passed Down

Go ahead and sit down, this is a long one...

Christmas was always magical at my house growing up. My mom is quite the decorator and the house was always decked out. Our house always transformed, it was so much fun. We used to decorate the tree together (just the one downstairs though, mom did the one upstairs). Once in awhile we would tackle a sub for santa project as a family. We usually always did something for someone in need. As a little girl I remember going to the ward party. The primary always did a program when I was little and I remember dressing up as an angel. Santa always came at the end of the party and always had a goody bag for us. It was a brown paper bag that was stapled shut. Inside was either popcorn or peanuts with assorted gum drops and chocolate covered treats. I loved that little bag. If we were lucky, there would be some left over and we would get another goody bag at tithing settlement.

On Christmas eve, Santa always walked in the door. We had a neighbor who came every year. He just walked in houses throughout the neighborhood with bells and a bag of treats. I remember someone asking my mom, "Why does Santa talk like Bob Jepson?" He is a great guy and my kids have even sat on his knee on Christmas eve. We always read the scriptures and my mom usually made us dress up and do the nativity scene. We would always sing a song or two. Then we would try to go to bed. It was so hard! We could hardly stand it.

My grandma would usually celebrate with us as well. And she spoiled us. We used to love it when she came to town. Her van would be clear full of presents. It was the best! I remember helping carry in the packages and we would always be searching for one with our name on it. And there were always lots.

My parents never let us wake up earlier than 6. So we always set our alarms for 6 am. Christmas at our house was in the basement. So we had to walk upstairs in the dark and wait for everyone to wake up. It was always so dark that I could never see a thing (and believe me, I tried!). When every one was there, my parents would get the cameras ready and then we would charge down the stairs to see what Santa set out for us. We were always so spoiled and so happy (except for the year that I got luggage:) that is a whole other post). With 7 kids, there was always lots of excitement and toys and garbage. My dad would fire up the wood burning stove so we could start burning some of the paper. It made for a cozy fun filled room all day.

As soon as we could we would start calling our friends to see what they got. My mom always made a yummy breakfast casserole. Eventually friends would come over and we would go over to their houses. And we just played and played. We never had to clean up the family room that day, it was always a mess for a day and I loved it!

So now that I have my own family I have thought a lot about traditions and how I want Christmas to be in my family. I am not exactly sure. I thought a lot about my Christmases and now that I am a parent I realize one thing my parents have instilled in me, the joy of giving. The home that I grew up in was very conservative. We had what we needed, but not much more. Except when it came to Christmas (I realize compared to some people my Christmases may have been conservative, but to us, they were over the top). And it brought my parents (especially my dad) a lot of joy to make us so happy. The older I get, the more I understand this. Christmas is just as much about giving as it is receiving. I love to find things for my family and friends. It does bring you joy. It is unfortunate that gift giving does take money. Oh if I were rich and could give everyone a big present, it would be so much fun!

My parents have really sacrificed a lot to make Christmas amazing for us. And since my sister wrote it so well on her blog I will just copy her words,

This Christmas they surprised everyone in the family by sacrificing something great so that we could each individually have something that's really important in our family. They're always sacrificing things in their lives so that we can have things in our lives.

And that is the tradition that stands out to me the most, the joy of giving. Thanks Mom and Dad. You are such awesome examples. Thanks for all the fun Christmases you have given us! I hope I can make Christmas as magical for my little family.