Every year the kids get a new ornament to add to their collection. They enjoy hanging them up on the family tree. When they start their own families, they will take their collection with them.
This year instead of making a gingerbread house, we made a gingerbread nativity. I saw this idea on pinterest and thought it was so cute.
One year when my siblings and I were little, we got up Christmas morning around 3am. So excited we started playing with all of our toys. Unfortunately, my parents weren't so pleased with the time and sent us all back to bed. Every year after that, on Christmas Eve, a chair was placed in the hall. If we got up and the chair was still there, we had to go back to bed. This ensured our parents got a few hour of sleep. As a child it was torture, but now as a parent, I think it's brilliant, and it's a tradition we carry on with our kids. Here they all are at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for us to move the chair Christmas morning.
Brant has been taking woods at CHS, and for Christmas he made Ralph and I this beautiful table. the top turns and the edges drop to form a triangle. It' is called a cricket table. It was a very nice surprise.