Christmas Traditions: Decorating

 

This Nativity set once belonged to my Grandma. Now it belongs to my son. As children, both my son and I would play with it, rearranging it on the sideboard and retelling the Christmas story (sometimes adding a few characters). Storytellers are we.

Around here, we're usually sticklers for doing all of our Christmas decorating on the day after Thanksgiving, but this year, Christmas arrived while the turkey was roasting. The more important tradition was decorating together, and Thanksgiving Day was the only day for us all to be together. I love the stories we share as we pull out each ornament and decoration. 

Some of our decorating traditions:
-Bing Crosby on Pandora
-rediscovering our Christmas "friends"
-sharing the memories each ornament evokes
-sharing the stories of family and friends who helped create memories
-small or big decorations don't matter, what matters is that we do it together

Our Nativity set is such a tangible reminder of Christmas Past and the loved ones we miss so dearly. I love that is a part of our shared history, but also so much a part of our Christmas Present. Our traditions keep us rooted into faith, family, and love. They remind us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We keep the stories of our loved ones alive, even as we celebrate our Christmas Present.

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