A White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

And I don't mean the snow covered ground kind (though that would be nice too).

I mean a White Christmas filled with togetherness and family traditions.

Because our last name is White!

A White Christmas~Our holiday traditions.

Nov 20-24~ Thanksgiving break! We use these days to clean and organize the house, and to catch up on projects. We declutter and give things away to a local charity.

Nov 25~ Thanksgiving! The last day before the Christmas season. A time to be thankful, to celebrate, and to eat together. As a family rule (started by my parents), we do not do anything Christmasy (sing songs, watch movies, decorate ...) until Thanksgiving is over (shh, don't tell them that I posted about a White Christmas).

Nov 26~ Black Friday shopping! All the girls on our family (mamas, sisters, and  daughters) leave early in the morning to hit up the deals.

Nov 27-28~ Decorate! Hubs and I dig out the boxes of decorations and get busy (Hubs puts the star on the top of the tree). We also watch our first Christmas movie of the year (we watch at least one or two Christmas movies a week).

Dec 22~ Daycare Christmas party! We make/eat Christmas cookies and each child receives a present.

Dec 23~ Christmas Eve Eve! Mama and I take off from daycare to prepare for Christmas. We do any last minute shopping (groceries, presents, decorations ...). We also finish any baking, cooking, decorating, and wrapping presents.

Dec 24~ Christmas Eve! Brunch at Mama's with her side of the family, then our family Chrismas Eve that night. We all open two presents (a book and pajamas) from mama and dad, and Bunny will open two presents from us (another book and a Christmas Day outfit) and we open presents from her. Then our normal bedtime rhythm. Once Bunny is in asleep, Hubs and I set out her presents and exchange presents ourselves. As we go to bed, we hang our stockings on our foot board (we open these first) and tuck a small stuffed animal or doll in bed with her so she will find it as soon as she wakes up.

Dec 25~ Christmas Day! We wake up (Bunny finds her new doll) and open our stockings which includes a small breakfast item such as a banana or a granola bar (this buys us some snuggle and snooze time in bed). We read in Luke about the birth of Jesus. Then go open Bunny's three presents. Later we head to Mama's (still in our new pajamas) for Christmas presents there. After that we go home to dress and rest from the morning's events. Later that day, we eat dinner with my dad's side of the family at my Grandma's house and stop into visit Hubs' Grandpa who lives where Hubs grew up, 1/4 mile down the road (thus how Hubs and I met).

Dec 26~ Worship with my family at Real Life Church (you're welcomed to join us)! Later we clean up the mess from Christmas (the tree and other decorations stay up until after New Year's Day) and prepare to do daycare the next day.

Dec 31~ New Years Eve! During the day, I like to do some cleaning so that we start out the new year with a clean home.That evening, we all gather at Mama's house (we stay as late our various bedtimes allow) to play games, eat the last of the holiday food, and some of us even make New Years Resolutions (another post for another time).