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The joy of creating Christmas traditions
Filed under: Babies, Toddlers Preschoolers, Activities: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies
Keeping with tradition (and, by "tradition," I mean something we came up with a few years ago) my husband and I pulled out the Christmas tree for decorating on Friday night. Since we have a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, we weren't sure how things would work. Would the kids try to climb the tree? Pull things down?Nope! (Well, not yet anyway.) My daughter helped put ornaments on the tree, though I did have to rearrange a few when she wasn't looking. Even my son, whose favorite activity is eating things off the floor, took time out from crawling to stop and stare at the tree.
The best part? Every time my daughter walks into our living room, she points at the tree and says "I made it!"
Since my kids are young, we're still working on the whole Christmas tradition thing. Since family is very important to me, I want for my kids to have good memories of the Christmas season once they are older.
What holiday traditions does your family do? Do you remember anything from when you were younger? Any tips on creating traditions for young children?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-26-2006 @ 12:44PM
ann adams said...We do many of the same things I did as a girl growing up in the late 40's and early 50's.
I did change the decorating though. My dad set up our tree and he and my mom did most of the trimming. We were allowed to hang an ornament or two apiece. It was beautiful but the older I got, the more left out I felt. I'd hang an ornament and it would get moved because it threw the decorating scheme out of balance.
Now I get out the boxes, we put on the lights, and then I turn the girls loose. I might sneak around and cover a couple of bare branches with ornaments which have overloaded another one but that's it for me. I ooh and ah over the finished product.
My way wouldn't be for everyone but it's my approach to most of the things we do. I involve the girls, zip my mouth, and enjoy their pleasure.
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11-26-2006 @ 4:00PM
Jessica Escue said...We also recently put up the tree..my son,Taylor, is 28 months and quite a little helper in his young age..he insisted on being in the middle of everything..naming every single color on the lights & garland and identifing every ornament by name :) It was such a fun time and I will cherish the memory of that night and will be so thankful I captured all of it on camera :) He even helped dad put the topper on and afterwards,he exclaimed "Its so up high!" Just adorable...But back on the track of traditions..one of the most important things I want my child to realize,even at the age of 2, is the act of giving is so much more rewarding than getting..so every year he must choose 3 toys that he no longer has interest in or is too big for to give to another child along with a homemade Christmas card. Our town has a local C.A.R.E center and we drop off the toys there the begining of Decemeber, I have told Taylor that he is helping Santa give a little boy or girl a very special Christmas and this year I think he is begining to understand more...we also do this at his birthday..a week before his birthday we gather up 3 toys to give to the C.A.R.E center for another child for their birthday along with a homemade birthday card. I hope he will grow up to enjoy giving to others and I think this is a great way to not only show him the joy of giving but also teach him that material things aren't everything. And a perk is it helps keep the toy clutter down! :)
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