Christmas Traditions - Ornaments

I know it's still November, but we've had our tree up for a week now, and that's gotten me thinking about Christmas traditions & memories. I will hopefully post a lot of them this month.

We traditionally decorate our tree at nighttime, within a couple of days after Thanksgiving (depending on travel). As we unwrap the ornaments (most of ours are fragile, and wrapped carefully for storage), we talk about where each one came from. This helps Ryan and I to take a moment to remember the many people we have met from our life journey thus far. If you want us to remember you, be sure to give us an ornament! :) We don't have any from Ryan's childhood, but we have a few from mine, including a homemade one from preschool and a homemade one from 3rd grade.

Each year, Ryan and I buy a special ornament for the kids, usually for them to open on Christmas Eve. This ornament is to be something that tells something about their life during the past year. For their first Christmas, they each have a photo ornament with a picture of them at Christmastime in it. Isaiah's 2nd Christmas ornament is a red truck to symbolize his interest in vehicles, and this year's ornament is a train, for his special deviation into trains this year. Sydney's 2nd Christmas is a caterpillar that says "simply adorable", as that was one of my favorite years to watch her growth. Last year, she receive Elmo, as she was obsessed with him all year. This year, she is getting a yellow crayon ornament - her favorite color.

After the tree is completely decorated, we turn the lights off, and then turn the tree lights on. We play Christmas music throughout the night, but at this time, we sit in the dark and listen to the Christmas music and look at the tree. Ryan and I usually have egg nog, and eventually the kids will get to stay up with us and share past Christmas memories.