Se7en + 1 Simple Christmas Traditions…

Just wanted to stop by and say Merry Christmas to all our readers… hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

We really try and keep our Christmas time simple, it is in the heart of summer and our summer break from school. Everyone is hot and roaming from shady spot to shady spot… it really isn’t a high energy season at all around here. We thought we would bring you a post with our simple Christmas traditions all in one place.

1. The Advent Calendar: I blogged about our Natural Factual Advent Calendar a few weeks ago… and here is a photograph of the completed calendar. I do think it deserves it’s own post, and here it is, our Completed Natural Factual Advent Calendar…

2. Christmas Carols: Our Christmas really only gets into gear with an evening of carols and a nativity play with friends. I tend not to worry that everyone else is miles ahead of us, getting shopping done and decorated weeks ahead of us… I know we will get into gear and I let the spirit of things catch up with us when we are good and ready to go.
   

3. The Great Cookie Day: We have cooked the same Spicy Christmas Cookies for years, they work… we only cook them once a year… they are special. We have a cookie day with friends, each child gets a lump of cookie day and turns and we bake tray after tray after tray…



4. Fresh Flowers: In this strangely busy season I do everything I can to stay out of the shops and to slow it down, making sure that we schedule in peaceful and relaxing events. They are a tradition and must be done… a morning visiting the Rose Farm for a run around, to sit in the shade and rest up, far from the madding crowd. And also pick some roses, flowers make the perfect gift in a season when the world is doing all sorts of crazy shopping. Not to mention this farm sells cherries… which is a special summer treat all of its own.

5. Gifts and Giftmaking: After an easy day we have a day of gift making… Jam jars are filled and biscotti are baked…



6. Cards & Wrapping: For a couple of weeks, whenever someone was free I asked them to make me a sheet of gift wrap… and when it came to actual gift wrapping we had a great pile of paper all good to go… many hands sure do make light work. And this year for the first time in a few we actually got our Christmas cards mailed… most years they get as far as the front door and then look a little sad… this year it was another example of many hands make light work and the job was done… maybe not timeoulsy, but cards were mailed.



7. Sibling Gifts: This is one tradition, the secret sibling gift tradition, that none of us are prepared to give up and every year I say we must begin a little sooner and somehow we always leave it to the very last minute. There is always a rush of quiet and creative flare the day before Christmas and every year it always works out right at the very last second.
   
   A colourful notebook, a knotted key chain, a cookbook with the recipes written out, and a cardboard speaker. A wand for the Harry Potter reader, and a dream word to pin up for the dreamer, and a little matchbox mouse house and finally a pirate notebook.

8. The Tree: ‘Twas the night before Christmas and as a small child i have fond memories of my dad heading out to hunt for a tree… something don’t change we also do a little bit of tree foraging… and there is always a huge debate as to which tree is the perfect tree… and into a bucket and up it goes and all the decorations, new ones made and old ones specially saved, are popped on the tree just as my mom-in-law arrives for Christmas dinner on Christmas eve.
   
   

   Christmas Day

   Our Christmas always looks the same… a trip to church and a long play in the park (it is the emptiest park day of the year), followed by a nap and oh yes, they swap their specially made gifts… and finally get to peak in their stockings, followed by the easiest supper on earth… whatever that is!!!
   

   

   And on Boxing Day, my folks arrive and there is a veritable party,… they brings their Christmas cheer and treats for every one… and of course we feast…
   

   

   And until the end of the year… you will find us lying around and reading and not doing anything too energetic… it is Summer break after all!!!