Our family tradition has been to shun Black Friday shopping and instead decorate our home. Last year I tried to do both, after the crowds and craziness I decided that I never had to do that again. And of course this year it turns out you were taking your life in your own hands going out on that day --- so I'm definitely sticking with our tradition.
What used to take Barry and me a couple of hours as newlyweds, is now an all day (sometimes multi-day) event. Barry preps the tree in advance, un-scrunching the branches and wrapping the lights. He's also great at lugging those totes down from the attic. Even though we've lived in this house 5 years – we seem to change it up every year. It makes it fun. This year we showcased all our Christmas books by putting them along the ledge in our foyer (will take a picture later). It's different – but I think it shows our love of books and shows how we try to focus on the spiritual side of Christmas.
By the end of weekend, all was done except the actual decoration of the tree. Barry is off on Mondays, so we spent that day outside (in majorly gusty winds) putting up lights. That's another area we change up a bit each year. For Family Home Evening we decorated the tree. It's fun to see that the kids enjoy the traditions we've established. It's the little things done the same way – like, special ornaments for each person. We even have a tradition for what goes on 2nd to last and last. When it's all done – we finally turn on the tree lights (other room lights are off) and sing Silent Night. It sounds corny – but we love it and it truly is an important part of the whole experience for us.
Christmas has a way of sneaking up on me – but I'm glad it's here. I'm just afraid it will be gone before I'm fully in the spirit. So I'm embracing it. I want to enjoy it all, not get stressed. Remember when it seemed so long between Christmases! Well I'm trying to get that feeling back again. Savor the Season!
