Christmas Is. . .(Part one)

This year it took me a little longer to get into the Christmas season.  Perhaps it was because our water heater died the day after Thanksgiving causing a flood and postponing Christmas festivities for a couple of weeks until we replaced the carpet in our house.  Perhaps it was the sudden business I delved into for Parent Council (the PTO group for Jackson's school) right before the holidays.  Either way, the "bug" bit me a little late this year.

Matt and I have been married for 12 years, and yet I still feel that we're still deciding what Christmas traditions we are going to carry on year after year.  Sometimes it's difficult for me to let go of my childhood traditions, and other times, I find I'm trying too hard to start new ones.  This year I started really thinking about what Christmas is to me.

In no particular order, other than the way they come to me as I compose this post, here is my list.

1.  Christmas is snow.  

 

 There just has to be snow to be a real Christmas for me.  This year it finally looks like it's going to be a White Christmas, which makes my heart leap with joy. 

2.  Christmas is decorating Gingerbread Men, Women, Children, Trees, etc.

I've done posts before about our decorating festivities, but it just isn't Christmas until we paint cookies.  I use a different recipe than my grandmother did for the cookies, but I use her frosting recipe.  As a girl, we hung them on the tree and waited to eat them until after Christmas (no, it's not gross, they're like ginger snaps).  We take our decorating seriously.  It's always so much fun.  The thing is, though, I feel like we always need a crowd because that's how it was when I was young.  The entire family gathered around our table (how 10 of us did it, I don't know) and decorated our hearts out.  Jackson doesn't care for the decorating part, he just loves the candy. 

3.  Christmas is Christmas lights. 

This means we drive around looking at lights, and we hang lights on our house.  We were late getting our lights up again this year, but we have them!  Jackson was the director -- told Matt where to put lights, and Matt was the assistant.  Just as in real life, the director burned out faster than the assistant did.  As a girl, we drove around Panaca looking at all the lights, and now Matt and I take the boys around town and to the neighboring cities to look at lights.

4.  Christmas is singing Christmas carols.  

When I was little, we'd gather around the piano as my mother played the carols, and we sang.  We sang primary songs, hymns, and the traditional carols.   I love to play Christmas music, and so I start playing on Thanksgiving Day, if not sooner.  At our house, we sing carols on Christmas Eve.  I'm excited because this year, Jackson can play at least two different Christmas songs for us!



So, I think I'm going to post more later.  This post is now getting lengthy, and I have so much more to share, but I'll continue it more as they come to me.