A Holiday List: Six Things I Want My Kids to Love About Christmas

We're 12 days away from Christmas and my excitement in spending our first holiday season in our new home is bursting at the seams! The draw to fully decorate and prep for Christmas is tempting and I've managed to do the responsible thing and sell off items that we won't be using any longer in order to indulge in a few new decorations! (We still have two mortgages until our old house sells - one more month to go!) I even made my own lighted garland with burlap and material scraps on clearance from Hobby Lobby. (Thank you, Pinterest)
Honestly, it's been enjoyable finding time to be a little crafty and slowly give our home the warmth and joy that I always felt as a kid.

Christmas is one of the times I miss my mom the most. When I begin thinking of all the things that I want my kids to love about the Christmas season, nearly all of them had to do with traditions my mom had with us. Our kids are still little so they won't care so much about some of these and maybe they never will. I only hope that when they become adults they can look back and remember the constant things about the holidays and our traditions, whether new or passed on, and have that feeling of home at Christmas time.

1. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

I love this song! It's corny, I know. It's my ring tone every December. Something about trying to sing the lyrics in your best chipmunk voice as a kid and exaggerating the word "hula-hoop" made this the best song to turn the volume up to in the car. (You know, back in the day when we only had radio and cassette players.) Alvin and the Chipmunks has actually made the cut when it comes to re-made classic cartoons and Noah is starting to become a fan. So there's a chance I can rope him into my fantasy world of sharing a love for this song with one of my kids. If you've never heard it then here you go: The Chipmunk Song.

2. Christmas Ornaments

For as a long as I can remember, one of my favorite parts of Christmas was helping my mom decorate the tree. We had a hodge podge tree growing up with ornaments from all walks of life. Whether it was the paper plate angel with my picture used for a tree topper (embarrassingly put up well into my 20s), or the little soldier and snowman wooden pull-string ornaments, or the felt ornaments that belonged to my mom when she was young; it was annual walk down memory lane. Eventually we will inherit some of those ornaments but until then, I'm busy making sure that our little family has our own set of ornaments each with its own special story or memory. I tried this year to get the boys to help me "look" at our ornaments as I pulled each one gingerly out and told them about each one. Yeah...they weren't interested. I can only hope for the future.

3. The Nutcracker

Technically, this is meant specifically for Charlotte but if the boys ever have an interest in seeing the ballet with me, then they are more than welcome! I don't care how much their dad roles his eyes. For those who didn't know me as a child, I grew up taking dance like most little girls. Once I stopped taking classes (around 15 years old), all that dance knowledge turned into musical theatre, winter guard, etc. throughout high school and college. As a part of that love for dance and fine arts, it was our tradition to see The Nutcracker every year. The majority of the time it was my mom and I. I don't remember when we started the tradition but we went every year up until 2012 - the Christmas before her last. Maybe it started the year Bass Hall opened downtown because I don't recall seeing it anywhere else.

Bass Hall is magical - even for an adult. The ballet is definitely not for everyone (kudos to my best friend for toughing it out that one year) but there is something about combining the awe of Bass Hall and the tradition, beauty and music of The Nutcracker that makes my holiday season complete. I look forward to the day that I can take Charlotte if only for her to experience it just once.

4. Caroling and Christmas Pageants

I realize this section has two points but I'll categorize them as "church Christmas activities". First off, I love Christmas caroling. At least I "loved" it. We haven't been in a long time due to kids and whatnot but growing up and caroling with our church was such always such a fun tradition. Bundling up and walking the neighborhood with a small group and your designated person who could play the guitar (whether they really could or not) was one of my favorite nights of the month of December. If there was one way to "spread Christmas cheer" this truly felt like we accomplished our goal. On the flip side, while I enjoy caroling, I do not enjoy being "caroled" too. If there's any hint of carolers in the neighborhood you might find me turning off all the lights or refusing to answer the door. Standing at your doorway gawking at a group of people singing to you while they gawk back - awkward! How's that for an oxymoron?!

Then there are Christmas pageants which are a staple! I had my turn playing an angel or a shepherd many times (never Mary though because I was a bleach blonde kid). Our church growing up even went further than the typical pageant and put on Christmas musicals such as  "Christmas from Scratch" or "Wise Guys and Starry Skies" (shout out to all my 80s and 90s church kids!). Perhaps it's my personality that I have always enjoyed doing any sort of theatre, but I hope my kids get the opportunity just once to don a rustic cloak and shepherd's staff or an angel's wings or walk in as one of the three wise men. Getting their picture would make it all worth it! Just don't ask me to sew...

5. Vánočka

Pronounced van-otch-ka, we grew up knowing it as "Christmas bread". A traditional Czech recipe,   vánočka is a sweet bread that is braided and usually contains almonds and raisins. My great-grandmother came to America from Czechoslovakia and the recipe has continued to be passed down through our families. This is perhaps one of the biggest memories connected to my mom and the holidays that I have. One weekend before Christmas, mom would spend the entire time baking several loafs of bread. Some we would keep at the house and the rest she gifted out to other family members and close friends. Only twice did I sit and learn to make it and even now I'm fighting off the regret I feel for not having done it more.

The Christmas before she died, I decided I wanted to find my own baking tradition since she was already making vánočka. So I did homemade cinnamon rolls. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about missing her Christmas bread anytime soon. So now in our second holiday season without my mom I'm ready to make it myself, for my family. If all these other traditions fail, I want Christmas bread, vánočka, to be the one to survive and continue.

6. The Story of Jesus

You see it every year on social media, and I'm speaking mainly of other Christians, folks bickering about facts and details surrounding the birth of Christ and how it wasn't really in December and are Christmas trees pagan and blah blah blah. Calm down, people. It's cliche for me to say "Jesus is the reason for the season" but the truth is, I want my kids to know and love the story of the birth of Jesus and no matter what scholars and self-titled scholars say, we can still celebrate at Christmas time. Honestly, we can celebrate any time we darn well please. :)

I bought our first little nativity set this year and have enjoyed playing with the little figurines and talking with the boys about the story of baby Jesus. I still remember being in kindergarten and our entire class memorizing Luke 2; each kid had their own portion that they would speak. Having recited and read the same passage year after year, the words never grow stale. There's a reason the lyrics of one of my favorite Christmas songs say, "O Holy night". Reading them now to my kids is a tradition I hope they carry and remember for the rest of their lives.