22 Things, Christmas Edition

Here are 22 things I absolutely LOVE about Christmas time in no particular order.


1. Traditions. I am a tradition girl. I love them! From carrying on ones from my family, Roy's or making our own, they are so much fun. We started the new tradition of Jingles the Elf this year, and we are all really enjoying him!


2. Wrapping Presents. I love to wrap! I try to hold off until the tree is put up and decorated and then I go to town wrapping the presents I have already managed to buy, but sometimes I have to wrap the present right after I buy it. I'm not a big gift-bag person.


3. Baking. I love to bake any time, but something about turning on Christmas music and baking tons of goodies from friends and neighbors makes me feel so good! I love to wrap the goodies in festive packaging, too. Last year, my sisters and I had our first annual Sister Bake Off in my parent's basement. We all baked some type of cookie/baked good while watching movies and talking. Take two starts in a few weeks. Girls, get your recipes together.

4. Sugar Nuts,Popcorn, and Moravian Sugar Cookies. Every Christmas, my mom makes her sugar nuts. They are DELICIOUS and so addicting. I make them each year, too, but they're not as good as hers. We also get a tin of popcorn delivered to us from Roy's grandfather each December. It's a mixture of butter, cheese and caramel corn and it is VERY tasty. I love seeing that box on our front porch each December. I wish you could have seen Caroline and Roy Austin when I opened the tin yesterday. Their eyes got huge and they started devouring it! Roy's family got me hooked on Moravian Sugar Cookies. They are so good! Thin, crispy and buttery:)


5. Music. This is an obvious one, but I love it. I have assorted Christmas CDs that we listen to including (don't laugh) The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It's kind of classical choir Christmas music, but it reminds me of when I was little and we would come home after school to my mom's reel-to-reel tapes playing. I can still hear the songs. There is something about having Christmas music on at night time, too, with only the Christmas tree lights on.



6. McAdenville. There is a little town outside of Charlotte that has a HUGE light display each Christmas. It is so fun to walk down all the streets and see everything, especially with the kids. People pass by and say "Merry Christmas!" and you feel like you're in an old movie like It's A Wonderful Life. I think we've started a new tradition this year, too, of visiting the Billy Graham Library light display. It's a beautiful site.

7. Movies. Again, obvious, but I have my favorites. White Christmas and Holiday Inn are two movies that my family has watched every year since I can remember. My family quotes lines from each movie a lot during the year. "Well, I like that! Either kiss my foot, or have an apple!". There is usually a Christmas movie on every night, so after we put the kids to be, Roy and I usually watch one together. They are always predictable and realllllly stupid, but yet, we still watch them!



8. Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree. Ever since I can remember, some of my sisters and I have slept under the Christmas tree. We're all a little too big to do this now, but it's cute to see the nieces and nephews continue this tradition. There is nothing sweeter than seeing them all in their sleeping bags sleeping peacefully by the glow of the tree. This year Caroline is big enough to do it!



9. Decorating the Family Tree. This is a big tradition for me. My family grew up decorating the main tree as a family and I am carrying this on in our home. I put the lights on, but we do not hang any ornaments until we are all home to do it together! I also love the decorations that come out during this time. The Nativity sets, poinsettias, wreaths.



10. Christmas Parties. I love them! Whether it's girl parties, couples parties or family parties, they are fun, especially when you have to bring a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift. By the way, if you need a White Elephant gift idea, I have a funny one!


11. Seeing Santa.I love to see Caroline's face when she walks by the Santa at the mall. This year when she saw him for the first time, he waved at her and she cupped her hands over her mouth, bent over and giggled. It made me so happy! We took the kids to see him last Saturday and Caroline was, once again, giddy! One thing that drives me crazy, though.....why do people have to make money on everything?! The only way we could take pictures with our own camera was if we bought the mall's cheapest Santa picture package ($17.99). Are you kidding me? Also, Santa would only hold them on his lap if we bought the package. Huh?


12. Angel Tree and Shoeboxes. I love picking angels off the tree at church and having Caroline pick out gifts for her "children with no toys". It was so fun explaining it to her this year and seeing her reaction. She said "that makes my heart sad, Mommy". Same thing with the shoeboxes. It's fun to gather the items and put them into each box. I also love to volunteer at the OCC distribution plant here in Charlotte. It gets so addicting! We are going this Friday night with our Sunday School class. If you live locally and want to come, then please do!



13. Going Home For Christmas. It is such a wonderful feeling driving down my parent's driveway and knowing you are there for Christmas. The house is filled with family, laughter, LOTS of noise and an abundance of love. Our first year of marriage, we were getting ready to come home for Christmas and the song "There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays" came on the radio and I started crying. Roy was a little scared. It's so nice to go to Roy's family's house after we leave my family. We spend a few day at his parent's and then go on to his grandparent's house for a few days, where we experience more laughter, love and good eating!


14. Caroling. My family goes caroling to an old friend of ours each Christmas Eve. She's a little on the eccentric side, so each visit is a treat. There is a lot of eye contact made, nudging each other and declining eggnog that goes on while we are there. We sing the same song each year, too...."We Wish You a Merry Christmas". We need to mix it up a little.


15. Christmas Eve Services. I love to go to church on Christmas Eve and sit as a family. Our row will need to sit 23 people this year. It's nice to sing carols, listen to the message and take the Lord's supper together. Then it's fun to drive home (slowly) to see what Santa left for us. My family has always opened our presents on Christmas Eve (see, we love traditions) so we are usually up until the wee hours of the morning opening presents and eating dessert!


16. Christmas Dinner. I love the turkey, ham, casseroles, pretzel salad, mmmmm mmmm!


17. Secret Gifts. For as long as I can remember, we have drawn names amongst the siblings in my family. We do the same thing in Roy's family, too. It's fun to search for the perfect gift for the person you draw!

18. Christmas Cards. I LOVE to go to the mailbox each day and see Christmas card envelopes! It's so much fun to open each envelope and see faces of friends and family and see how much children have grown over the past year. I love sending cards, too, but I dread taking the Christmas card picture. It always leaves me stressed.




19. Smells. I love the smells of Christmas. The smell of a Christmas tree, spices, cookies baking in the oven, a good Christmas scented candle (I love Yankee Candle's Christmas Cookies, and Christmas Wreath), the smell of a fire burning in a fireplace on a cold night outside.




20. Sounds. I love the sounds of Christmas. The music, the sound of jingle bells, music boxes, children laughing, families laughing together.




21. Manipulation. I love the fact that Caroline is at an age where all I have to do is say, "I hope Santa didn't hear you say that" or "Jingles?! Did you see what Caroline just did?!". It works like a charm every time!



22. The Christmas Story. I've always loved the reason for Christmas, but since becoming a mother, it really hits home. It's so neat to sit and think about ALL that Mary and Joseph went through with the pregnancy, traveling, danger, etc of having Jesus. And it's so amazing that God's son would be born in a stable. The whole story gives me chills when I think about it.



Shew! That took a lot of thought. If you want to do your own favorite list, do one! I did mine over a week's time. I just wrote things as I thought of them, so don't feel like you have to do it all at once:)