Holiday Open House ~ 2008

The Christmas season is finally here! It is my absolute favorite time of year. I tend to plan for this season all year long and usually most of the presents are bought and wrapped by September. This year is a tad bit different. We've not been able to prepare as we have in past years but it has worked out really well because as a family, we've committed to focusing on a more simpler Christmas than we ever have before. It will focus on Christ, family and being together and more on giving than receiving; the things that are the most important all year long as well as during the holiday season.

We'll still be doing all of the traditions that we wrote about in our Holiday Open House ~ 2007. We're adding a few new traditions as well:

• We'll be making homemade Christmas decorations for our tree. I'll be posting more about this soon!



• Wrapping our favorite holiday reading books in Christmas paper or Hanukkah paper and putting them in a big basket under our tree. We'll pull one out, unwrap it and read it together during our family night time reading. (The books that we need to read for certain nights will be wrapped in special wrapping paper so we can be sure to pick them on the right night).



• Christmas Eve will be a celebration of Jesus' Birthday. We'll be watching The Little Drummer Boy, reading The Story of Christmas. We'll be having cup cakes (or cake...not really sure yet) and family reading of the bible and singing our favorite Christmas Hymns. We'll be celebrating Santa coming as well but the main focus will be on Christ's birth.

Wishing you all a Merry Holiday Season!