tradition! (fiddler on the roof style)

i stumbled across this linky party tonight all about christmas for 12 days of christmas.

i liked linkin' up so much last time, i figured i'd try it out again!

day 2: christmas traditions

{snow in florida, circa 1989}

my family growing up had lots of random traditions, and i love em all.

1. we listened to bing crosby's white christmas album while decorating 

(still my favorite christmas album).

2. my mom put on a tape of a fire crackling in a fireplace on the tv 

(even though we had a fireplace too).

3. mom would simmer orange peels and cinnamon or apples and cinnamon to 

make the house smell good.

4. we watched the claymation rudolph and kris kringle movies.

5. many christmas eve's were spent frantically wrapping gifts.

6. for some reason we always opened presents on christmas eve instead of christmas day. nowadays this is so convenient since most of our in-laws celebrate on christmas day. 

my mom and dad are so smart.

7. with so many kids, my parents came up with an easy way for the kids to give each other gifts, secret santa. definitely my favorite tradition. we would draw names out of a hat. then dad would match us up with a shopping buddy, the only person who was allowed to know who we had, but obviously we spent the whole month guessing who had who. on christmas eve the first gifts that get opened are the secret santa presents, one by one in a chain (unless two people have each other, which breaks it).

8. before we do presents my dad (in his deep heavenly voice) reads and discusses luke 2.

9. before presents, we all take candles and stand in a circle outside to sing some carols. we sing a few, from hymns to rudolph while the wax drips on the porch/sidewalk. we don't clean up the wax, it's just a christmas reminder for the new year.

10. mrs. claus gets busy during the night so by morning it's stocking time.

11. stocking stuffers are wrapped in tin foil.

12. christmas morning is also time to start cooking for dinner.

13. and inevitably, most years, a long lost present mom had hidden in her closet a little too well, would surface.

growing up for brett, here were a couple traditions

1. they got to open one present on christmas eve.
2. brett and his brother went to go spend christmas with their dad.
3. they take a trip to go snowboarding/skiing.

(that was all i got out of him. short and sweet.)

in our newly wed household, we only have a couple more traditions on top of those

1. brett studies his buns off.

2. i'm the designated deck the halls person.

3. we use a cardboard/tin foil star (hopefully this year i'll craft a little something better though).

4. we watch elf and white christmas.

5. we've been really good about spending time with both sides of the fam, which means christmas is a time to travel.

for more christmas-y bloggers/if you want to join in, just follow the button!