Our family Christmas traditions have changed through the years as I'm sure most families do as they grow; children get older, in-laws are added, etc. One thing that my family started doing, which I'm pretty sure was actually started by me, is whenever we open a present we put the bow or ribbon on ourselves.  This started when I was in college. My mom had made my sister and I (don't remember if my little brother had them as well) some Christmas pajamas. They were VeggieTales bottoms with a t-shirt lined with ruffled VeggieTales fabric and little character appliques. They were cute. My sister, brother and I were OBSESSED with VeggieTales after my college roommate introduced them to me. Yes, you read that correctly, I was obsessed with VeggieTales in COLLEGE!! Actually, I still am but that's a whole nother blogpost. 

So we got up "early" to open presents in our pjs. Mom always puts our stockings around the room and we sit by our stockings to open presents.  We have to open our stockings first which ALWAYS include oranges and mixed nuts still in the shells. We typically just put those back in the bowl on the kitchen counter where they came from the night before.  This year was no different.  We went around the circle, opening our stockings and then gifts in order and one at a time. I remember, just being silly, that every time I had a bow or ribbon on my present, I put it on my head or on my shirt. I randomly also found some Easter Bunny Ears on a headband and decided to wear that as well.  It was a super fun Christmas. I also remember the neighbors coming to the house that morning and answering the door in my beautifully created Christmas outfit, bunny ears, bows & all. What a sight I must have been to the kids across the street, one of which was my age and a really cute guy I had had a crush on in high school.  Not that I really cared or I wouldn't have opened the door in that attire.  I'm pretty sure that since that time, every time my family opened Christmas presents together, I would put the bows & ribbons on my head and I think my sister did too but maybe it was just me.  :0)

So fast forward some 17 years and this past week at our San Diego office Christmas party, amongst my fellow coworkers and missionaries, my first instinct when I opened my present was to put the tied ribbon on my head.  I wore it around the rest of the night. When anyone made a comment, I just explained it was a family Christmas tradition. 

What are some of your crazy or time-honored Christmas family traditions?

So, as I'm sure you are aware (if not, you are way behind) Christmas is just around the corner, literally.  With Christmas comes the age old debate of whether it is healthy to believe in Santa Claus. There are so many historical accounts of how the story of Santa Claus came to be and how he is celebrated all around the world.  A friend posted this article recently on facebook about Elves and Santa. I thought it was very intriguing. I am not exactly sure where my decision lies but the good thing is I don't have kids yet so I can ponder this question for a few more years.  

I am not sure what my niece (5) & nephew (7) but they still believe in the tooth fairy (even though one of their great aunts convinced them that the tooth fairy was her mom when she was growing up) so I'm pretty sure Santa is still up there.  They also have one of the mischievous elves and they trust that he is the one making the huge messes all around the house so they still believe in the magic of such things. 

I honestly don't recall if I believed in Santa or what I was taught as a young child. I'm sure that we got presents from Santa because even into my high school days I was still getting a few presents from Santa but my brother would have still been in single digits so I'm sure that was more for him than for me.  I do, however, recall very distinctly when our family's mentality shifted significantly concerning Christmas & Santa.  I don't remember the exact year but I do know that it was a few years after my parents got divorced.  My mom was doing all she could to provide a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our tummys. She struggled alot (and still does occasionally) back then to make ends meet. We often got our food from our church's food bank and there was more than one occasion that our church's benevolent fund paid our electrical bill. That year, however, things were worse than ever. We couldn't even afford a Christmas tree and we weren't going to have any Christmas presents because there wasn't enough money to pay the bills much less get presents.  I am sure that my mom was heartbroken and feeling defeated cause she wouldn't be able to give us Christmas like she wanted.  I'm pretty sure the church paid our electric bill that month as well.  

If memory serves me correctly, mom got a phone call from the church office saying that someone had left money there for her and she needed to come pick it up.  I don't recall the exact amount but when Christmas morning rolled around, we had presents and a turkey with all the fixings for dinner.  My mom told us the story of how someone had given money anonymously so that we could have presents so instead of putting "mom" or "santa" in the FROM line, she had neatly written "God".  I will never forget that year and each subsequent year all of our presents have come from God.  

That Christmas, God used one of His angels here on earth to provide for our family and I am forever grateful to that person's obedience. We still have no idea who that person was but there have been numerous occasions throughout the years that God has blessed our family with mysterious love gifts found in our mailbox, on our doorstep, at the church office and even sometimes directly in our bank accounts.  

This year, God continues to give me Christmas presents. I am blessed beyond measure and my heart is filled to overflowing with the love He has poured out upon me.  As you celebrate Christmas in your own way, I ask that you remember that all good things come from the Lord, even Christmas presents. 

So, what do you tell your kids about Santa??