Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions.

Everybody has a few. They are fun, festive and its what makes the Holiday bright. Here are a few of ours.

Around Thanksgiving, we always construct a gingerbread house. In our house, it's usually Nana who begins this messy task and I gladly let her take it on.

Our nutcracker collection. Jackson LOVED nutcrackers his second Christmas and could easily say it at only 13 months old. That's when we decided to create a collection of our own.

Making Christmas cookies. This is one carried over from my beloved childhood and I knew I'd want to do this with my children. It's messy, sugary, fun. Here's this years adventure with my little helpers.
Boy, isn't Lincoln proud he's getting to help like a big boy!
"Hey, Mom, what does that say??"

Naughty or Nice? "Which one am I?" Hmmmmm...

Well, I guess this answers it! Always count on Lincoln for a photo opportunity like this.

Jackson is trying to figure out how he can get a bite of Lincoln's cookie too!

Our FAVORITE little people Nativity. Here, I posted Jackson retelling the Christmas story using this Nativity. It's been one of my best ever craigslist finds.

Our Alabama/Auburn tree. To be honest, it started as an Auburn tree. I had collected ornaments in college for the tree I knew I would want to have one day. But, in a family of Alabama boys, I have made the concession to have the "family divided" tree.

Half Auburn (the pretty side) and half Alabama. All Christmas love!
And our family tree. I loved the tree this year. We still buy a real tree and I don't think it can be beat. We picked it out and drug it in and decorated it together. Jackson had fun asking about each of the ornaments. When I was engaged to be married to Jason, I had a Christmas shower and I received a ton of beautiful ornaments. On each box I wrote who the ornaments were from so I would always remember and be able to tell my kids of the people who love us.
Jason thought the gold swirly's were a little crazy but what does he know about Christmas tree decor? A special thanks to my friend Danielle for tying the fabulous bow on top!

This was my grandmother's Christmas village. I was so glad to inherit it to put up at Christmas. I can remember not being able to leave it alone when she put it out every year. Now I'm fighting the same "Don't touch it" battle. I miss her dearly and wish she were here to see it.

I'm sure there are some that were left undocumented. These are just a few of our families favorite Christmas traditions.

What are some of YOUR favorite traditions with your family?