December traditions that build family culture

Christmas is CLOSE and we are preparing for CELEBRATING the holiday! 

We have VERY few priorities this month and this keeps us from becoming too frazzled during the holidays. 

Each family is different, special and unique. 

Each year we celebrate that uniqueness in our family traditions.  We started some of our December traditions leading up to Christmas very intentionally. 

Others just happened, worked for us and we keep doing them year after year.

Story of Jesus

There is no better time to share with your children the love that Jesus has for us. 

The whole Christmas story is full of love and wonder.  Wrapped up in a wild story of a child being born in a BARN are dozens of teachable moments about how a BIG God came to earth.  The drama and danger that surrounded the baby Jesus when he was a baby can teach even the youngest about sin and why we needed a savior.  

Advent Calendar

When our kids were really little we used old Christmas cards to made our own advent calendar. It has survived 20 years. Last year was the only year we didn’t put it up.  This calendar has pointed us to Jesus’s birth and created anticipation in all of our children each year.

Each year we would cut up paper to cover each picture and the kids would get to write the dates on one side in “their” color.  They would choose the dates of the pictures they liked best.  Then when that date came they knew it was "their" day to pull off the paper taped over it. 

Megan always chose the date that was “hers”(birthday) and the rest were totally random.

On Christmas morning, we pull the last paper off before checking out the filled stockings.  It created anticipation but gave a very concrete way for little people to know “how long it was until Christmas.”

When to put up the tree

Let’s face it.  When your birthday is in December Christmas can be not as much fun. 

Megan has never felt that way because we’ve tried to make it special for her.  Once she was old enough to know how close her birthday is to Christmas, we’ve let her choose if we put up the tree before or after her birthday. 

She has almost always chosen before.  She likes that her birthday pictures can be in front of the tree. 

No other kid in the house gets to do that.  It turns a downer for her into something special.

Homemade Stockings

My mother-in-law started the tradition of homemade stockings at her house.  She has 49 stockings up now.  Grandma & Grandpa, 4 kids, 4 spouses, 33 grandkids & 6 great grandkids.  CRAZY fun!!!

We continued that tradition and made our own.  Our family is growing with 7 stockings now to hang up each December.  This year we need to make a new one for little Cecily! 

Decorating the house

We might have a new tradition in the works this year.  

The past two Christmas’s my girls have decorated the house together.  Every time I walk through the living room and kitchen I get a little thrill of JOY over the beauty of the decorations.  They did such a good job and had a BLAST singing and being silly while they decorated.  

What are some of your December traditions?  What are your favorite ways to get ready for Christmas?  Share in the comments, I’d love to know!

Recent Posts

Essentials on my list for the very best Christmas

This year we have a VERY short list of what MUST be done in December and over Christmas break. 

It is helping me to not stress over anything. 

I’m having hip replacement surgery the second week of December and so if it is going to happen then it must be done this week.

Making a short list means that we can plan and get it done. 

Making a short list means keeping the “overwhelmed” feeling as far away as possible. 

Making a short list means less stress.

Must Do in December List

1.  Celebrate for the right reason

It’s a joyous time of year.  There are special fun things that we want to do that are part of our family’s Christmas traditions.  We plan to celebrate by seeing family, attending parties or decorating our tree.  But we are going to talk about and rejoice in the WHY.  Our kids know Christmas is about Jesus coming as a baby to be our Savior but it still needs to be said(shouted really) over and over and spill out into our conversations and actions with everyone.

If we don’t have the right why then our reason for celebrating is wrong.

2.  Rest

This will be mandatory for me.  If I don’t rest then I won’t heal.  I want to be going, doing, & walking without pain but that is going to take time.  So I have a pile of books, projects and movies that I’m going to enjoy while I rest during this season.  I’m looking at it as a vacation from my normal work and business.

Rest will be on the list for everyone.  December can become over filled with activities, shopping, parties etc.  No one wants to spend Christmas sick and exhausted so we will be getting to bed on time and spending time resting each week.

3.  Maintain the house

Cleaning is going to be done by the kids and the husband.  So that means they need a list.  Mainly my list lives in my head but for simplicity sake I wrote down a list for them.  

For the last couple of weeks, every time I did a cleaning chore I wrote it down on a printed out calendar.  Now we all know the last time the chore was done and I can let them know if it needs to happen. (ie Its been a week since the bathrooms were cleaned or the sheets need to be changed)

4.  Think ahead . . . not get ahead

With a big date looming(surgery), it is hard to plan further out because I don’t know how easy or hard my healing will be so I am “thinking ahead” not “planning”.  There’s less pressure that way.  My thoughts are about what 2016 is going to look like and what habits I want to create for myself and our family.  This “thinking” ahead will help shape our actions and plans when it is time to start “doing” again.

I challenge you to keep your list small.  Do the most important things and let the rest go.  It will be okay I promise. In fact it just might be wonderful.

Like what you are reading?

Don't miss new posts!  Enter your email and be sent new "Adventures" in a weekly newsletter.

What to read next

My NO GUILT eating strategy for getting through the holidays

*Links in this post may be affiliate links.  If you make a purchase, it helps pay for the costs of this blog*

Honestly I ate whatever I wanted at Thanksgiving.  I had no guilt over it either.  The holidays are here!

There was no guilt because I knew that in 3 hours I could start over again.  The next morning I got up ate two eggs and some bacon and was on plan again. 

That is one of the BIGGEST blessings of being a THM Mama.  THM stands for Trim Healthy Mama(or mammal as my silly teens say) 

Every three hours you can start again.  It is so good to give yourself grace when you mess up.  Living in grace is good. 

Don't stay stuck in that guilty place.  Just start again and do your best to eat the most healthy food you can every time you put food in your mouth.

The Trim Healthy Mama eating plan(notice I didn’t say diet) has changed my way of thinking about food. 

I enjoy eating so much more now and without the guilt.  I eat sweets and don’t feel guilty over it because they are good for me sweets.  

REALLY.  There is such a thing.  I don’t lie.  Here is my favorite.

Peanut Butter Cups.  Seriously make these.  NOW!

If you want a good summary of what THM is all about check out this review of the plan by one of my favorite bloggers.  She has some great recipes as well. 

THM strategy

Earlier this year I had serious weight gain frustrations and THM helped me through my struggle of weight gain after surgery.  Since I'm having hip replacement surgery mid December, I am facing the same situation all over again so I need a holiday eating strategy.

Menu planning

I will loose control of what food I eat once I have my surgery because my family will be cooking and friends will be bringing meals.  I went ahead and made a rotating menu that is on plan and works for my daughter’s gut healing protocol(no wheat, rice, corn, eggs and limited dairy). 

This helps my family so they have a list of options and if anyone comes to cook for us they can look at the menu plan and recipes I have listed to cook a meal we can eat.

The new THM Recipe book has been a God send and we are LOVING many of the recipes in it.  I especially love the Cream of Sweet Stuff Soup.  Most of the recipe instructions are simple enough for my kids to follow and my oldest daughter loves that she still has delicious options despite her food limitations.  I planned two weeks and we will just alternate those in December and January.  

Pantry Options & Premade Mixes

Over the last 6 weeks, we have been putting make-ahead-time-saving foods in the freezer and stocking up on the basics.  Yesterday the kids ran to the store for me and all they had to do was get fresh fruit, veggies, almond milk and eggs.  

By having a well stocked pantry, we have a HUGE amount of meal options available.  In addition to frozen foods, we’ve made homemade yogurt, premixed muffin in a mug & chia porridge, worked out a plan for my THM drinking problem, and gathered the recipes for our favorite meals that aren’t in the THM cookbook. 

Another resource I've built for my family and I is a Food Decision Fatigue board on Pinterest.  When we need to choose an easy meal without much effort this board will come in handy.. 

Go ahead.  Follow it.  You need it too!  You know that you do.  I'll be here when you get back

Keep it Simple

We are not going to be doing big fancy meals or tons of baking this year.

It is just too hard. 

But we will not go hungry and it isn't going to be a huge headache to keep everyone fed and healthy. 

What are your priorities when it comes to eating this holiday season? If you are a Trim Healthy Mama will you stay on plan?  I encourage you to do it!  It is so worth it for health, energy and weight loss!

(If you would be so kind, you can click on my affiliate link to purchase your THM goodies! It doesn’t cost you any extra pennies and it funds the upkeep of this blog. You can always find a THM button on the right side of my blog.)

Related posts you might like

33 AWESOME games LOVED by our family

A friend of my son’s once told me that our game closet was like the door into Narnia.  I laughed at the time but it was a pretty accurate description.

When we play a game together as a family we step away from the cares of the moment and focus on something fun and enjoyable.  It is the best stress relief out there!  Fun & laughter plus family memory building works wonders.

Playing games teaches life lessons to all ages

From a young age we played games with our children.  It has taught them many things.

• to take turns

• hand eye coordination to move their pieces on the board

• that loosing happens & it is ok to be sad but not ok to be mad

• also that winning is fun but you need to be kind in your celebrating

Family Event

Usually when we get together as a family there is at least one game played.  We recently celebrated Steve’s birthday and we played 5 Crowns with the kids and Steve’s parents.  The kids were being crazy and it was a lot of fun.  On Thanksgiving, we played Password while waiting for the turkey to be ready.

I was sad over Thanksgiving that I couldn’t play more board games with the kids but sitting in a hard upright chair is pretty much impossible.  It is something to am looking forward to doing after surgery.

HUGE list of Card, Board & Random Games

I seriously can’t believe how many we had but well . . . we love games.  Birthday & Christmas gifts are often games both for kids & adults around here.  

So if you are looking for some good games to give to your kids this Christmas, I hope this list is helpful!

1. 5 Crowns (card game)
2. UNO (card game)
3. Authors (card game) or get a set with scientists, composers and inventors too!
4. SkipBo (card game)
5. Dutch Blitz (card game)
6. Blink (card game)
7. Set (card game)
8. Hit the Deck (card game)
9. Rook (card game)
10. There's a Moose in the House (card game)
11. Bohnanza (card game)
12. Pass the Pigs
13. Quirkle
14. Password
15. Rack-o
16. Apples to Apples
17. Mouse Trap
18. Outfoxed
19. Connect 4
20. Blokus
21. Stratego
22. Ticket to Ride. This is the original but there are many versions. We love the original, London and the USA.
23. Carcassonne
24. Yahtzee
25. Sequence
26. Eclipse
27. Aquire
28. Scotland Yard
29. Masterpiece
30. Settlers of Catan\
31. Clue
32. Kerplunk
33. Rushhour

These are games that we've played pretty consistently with our children from age 10 & up. 

Several were played at much younger than 10.

One way we would do this was to pair a parent or older child with the younger child so they can learn the rules and have advice on how to play.

These teams can be hysterical.  The series of pictures below show my boys teamed up in a game of Settlers of Catan.  At 9 and 19 they were NOT agreeing on how to play! 

Can you tell who won the argument?

These are not ALL the game that we own but these are the ones that we have played the most often.

Games build memories & for us that has been a very good thing.  I'd love to hear what games your family plays & enjoys.  I'm always on the look out for a new game that we haven't tried . . . . yet.

Posts you might be interested in