Traditions

It's Christmas Eve and I have been thinking a lot about Christmas traditions. I noticed that for the past three blogs I griped about Christmas. So today I want to share some traditions we have that I love.

Christmas Eve is very special to my brother and sisters and me. My dad was married once before he married my mom and I have two sisters and a brother from that marriage. Through the divorce agreement, Dad got the kids on Christmas Eve, so a long time ago, this became our family's big night. And we still get together every year. Kathi goes all out and buys toys for all the little ones, like she's a skinny, female, Mormon, Santa. And someone reads the Christmas story from Dad's bible before we eat. While we do have ham, it is supposed to be potluck, which means we end up having Doritos instead of potatoes sometimes, but that's okay. Every year, the kids put on their new pajamas and open their new books.
But Christmas Eve is more than a party for us. It is a time for the five of us to get together. We don't keep in touch all year like we should because we are so busy. But on Christmas Eve, when Scott walks in and hugs me and I know that this is my brother no matter what. Every year someone tries to change the day we get together. The individual families are getting bigger and that makes it a little harder. But eventually, we all seem to reach the same conclusion that this night is special to us for more than one reason.
It is a night when we don't have to be husbands or wives or moms or dads or a nurse or an architect or teachers or a student
It is our night to just be Dad's kids.


My second favorite tradition is singing. We are a musical family. We aren't necessarily great, but we're good enough. My cousins Autumn and Emily and my sister Erin and I get together and sing Christmas carols every year. We were in choir together in high school and learned to love singing together. I play the piano. We always finish up with "O Holy Night." Autumn served her mission in France, so she sings a verse in French, and by the end we're all in tears. Then we exchange some small gifts. Nothing says Christmas to me like music. Especially when it's my family singing


Finally, I wanted to share my Christmas Tree ornament's tradition. I started getting an ornament every year when I was 18. I made some, and I bought others. Some were given to me. The idea was that by the time I had my own tree, I would have enough ornaments to fill it. And I do. But I definitely have my favorites.
A few years ago, after my Grandpa Baxter died, we were going through his things and cleaning stuff out. Mom brought home the Christmas ornaments from their tree. These ornaments had been on their tree for years, since my mom was a kid. They are the old hand painted glass ornaments you can't get any more and I asked if I could have them to add to my collection. I have a little horn that wraps around a tree branch. It used to actually make noise, but it has long since worn out. I have a little teapot, and I have a glass bulb. All were my grandparents. I remember putting them on their tree, and my mom remembers putting them on her tree when she was little. I absolutely love these ornaments.



My Grandpa Pettit was a carpenter but an artist at heart. He loved to whittle, and years ago, mom gave me this little truck that had been on our tree. Grandpa made it as a Christmas gift and I remember loving the fact that it was a Christmas tree truck. I love the fact that I have something he made on my tree.

And this year, my new ornament was given to me. Indiana Jones was a gift from my roommate. He isn't traditional, but how fun is that!

As I was writing I noticed that everyone of these traditions was rooted in family. Even my ornaments are meant to be shared with others. So that's my most favorite tradition of Christmas. Being with family.

Merry Christmas!