Anyone Have a Special Christmas Book or Tradition They Would like to Share?

My children each adopt an angel off the Christmas Tree close to their own age and shop for them with a piece of their allowance that they have saved all year - Their dad and I kick in a coat.

This year Christmas will be a little more sparse, so they will probably adopt an angel together, but the idea is still there - they give.

You need to look into Elf on the Shelf. He arrives after Thanksgiving and each night he is placed in a different location in the house. he is sent to your home from "Santa" to be his eyes and ears for all the good (and not so good) kids. My little guy is 1 1/2 so he is not going to understand it this year as much. We named our Elf Kirby.

then Christmas morning Kirby is gone...back to the north pole. he will return around Thanksgiving the next year!

Also, you must do the driving around looking at Christmas lights after dinner on Christmas Eve. My parents loved doing this because we enjoyed it (we had a cookie for the ride) and then we would come home and be tired. They would just drive and drive in neighborhoods and get us good an tired.

Hi K., my Cousin was a Reading teacher and of course loved books, so she would give me a book every year that was signed by the author. I can't remember all of them, but Geraldine's Blanket, The Christmas Puppy, and Polar Express are just some. They're even more precious to me since she passed away. I could always count on getting a book every year. Barnes and Noble has a ton of Christmas books that are beautifully illustrated and alot won awards, that's the kind she got me.

Someone else mentioned Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Movie, Frosty the Snowman, the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Home Alone Movies (first two), Jack Frost, The Christmas Story, I have all of those and plus some, I just love watching those movies with the family, making cookies or smores.

Another idea is getting a special ornament for your daughter every year, maybe one from Hallmark.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Personally, we always watched the Nutcracker ballet while we decorated the tree. I loved it! Everytime I hear the music, I think of pulling out those treasured ornaments from years past!

My 3 year old daughter loves the classic Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and Sana Claus is coming to town movies. I just found the dvd's at Big Lots yesterday for $5 a piece! Also, a good (any classic) Christmas book with hot chocolate. (We've already started the Christmas hot cocoa, fudge, and books/movies! Lol.
My personal family tradition is decorating the tree together with hot apple cider with red hots or hot cocoa and marshmallows with the kids the evening after Thansgiving or that Saturday eve. while listening to Christmas music or having A Christmas Story on tv. I have 5 kids from 3 to 16, but all enjoy it. Also, having them help me decorate gingerbread men was always a hit with my little one's. Plus, making the salt-dough and letting them sit at the table with newspaper covering it and shape the dough into ornaments and painting and putting hooks into them for the tree. Making popcorn-cranberry garland to decorate was always fun too. On Christmas eve, we always go to my mom's and exchange gifts. She has snacks and cookies, apple cider, and the fire place going. It's nice. Then the kids are tired once we get home and go to bed to wait for Santa. Christmas morning is Santa's gifts, breakfast, Christmas Parade or movies on t.v.-then dressed and to my grandmother's house for Christmas dinner.
Also, nearing Christmas the city of Farmers Branch where we live has '12 days of Christmas' at the historical park. It's just a free drive-through experience where you drive your car through and view all the lights and decor. and hear the music and at the end Santa is waiting and comes to the car and hands the kids candy canes. I have done this every year with my kids, it's fun! Check to see if your city offers anything like this. Just driving around and looking at all the decorations is fun the nights before Christmas as well.

Hi--fun question. Our family does the international thing you mentioned (we draw a country on Thanksgiving day, find a missionary in that place to "sponsor" and make a care package for, learn a little about the country, and do a dinner from that country during the holiday season).
We also get my son 1 special Christmas book each year. The first was given to me from a friend and is BEAUTIFUL: it's a big Night Before Christmas book with all kinds of cool extras: envelopes open with snowflakes, someone's list, little pictures, some of it is popup, there's different traditions people have or recipes, all kinda "around" the main story. She said she got it at Walmart. The second book: The Cajun Night Before Christmas (My family is from the river, so it's sentimental as well as cute with great illustrations). We also do 1 ornament a year for each of us that signifies something we did or were into that year. Of course there's the annual picture with Santa that is a must, I think.
We also like the old movies: the old cartoon/claymation ones, but also my favorite "Its a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street". I love the apple cider and the hot chocolate too, but one thing we do for the cocoa: my son is just a wee boy and all children that come have Swiss Miss hot chocolate and we add "real" marshmellows to them. For the grownups, we do the Ghiradelli and add 1 shot of Godiva liqueur, 1 shot of Peppermint Schnapps. (For big cups, obviously). It's delicious, and too rich to worry about anyone drinking too much, lol.
One thing we will start this year: Hanging a string above our kitchen bar (our central location) and hanging all the cards we receive as part of the decorations. I'd like to do one craft each year but this is the first year my son will be old enough to help. We also think volunteering is important: we're doing 3 major outreaches with our church in December, and part of what my mother did when I was young, I'll continue with my son when he's old enough to know what he's doing is this: Part of Thanksgiving is remembering how blessed we are, and preparing to give some of that the day after Thanksgiving to others that have less than us. The day after Thanksgiving we would take our things that we were "ready" to part with (and of course that were in good shape still) to give as gifts to shelters or consignment centers that benefit charities we want to be a part of. It taught children about being thankful and giving back, but it also made room for Christmas decorations and later gifts. As an adult, I'm grateful that mom didn't barge in and just start throwing stuff into bags: she did let us part with things "on purpose" with the good intent in mind, so it was things we were ready to give and kept the feelings happy instead of upsetting us.
My son is wild about trains right now so I'm really excited about the Polar Express! And I bought some cookie cutters so we can "cook" together this year because I remember loving to stand on a chair and decorate cookies with my mom. What I love about the Christmas season is that it's like a month long, so you have plenty of time to do a little of everything if you put some thought into it. Have fun whatever you do!

My daughter turned 4 in June and last year she wanted to drive around and look at Christmas lights EVERY NIGHT! We didn't do it that often, but she was excited everytime we did. We will continue to that as many nights as possible.

We also started last year going to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags. She loved that too.

We decorate our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, with hot chocolate and Christmas Music. We also put out the lights for our front yard and our inflatable Snow Globe.

I have always loved Christmas time, but it is so much better through her eyes!

We have an only child daughter who will be 14 on 12/27. We are not close to any family so it is just us every year and we always have special times! How great for you to be thinking of this now for your family!

I LOVE to cook for Christmas. When hubby and I were dating, I got the turkey started in the oven and we were just hanging out at the apartment. On a whim, we decided to go to the movies! We never stopped (except for when daughter was very small and not old enough to sit through movies) and to this day we find something fun to go see on Christmas day. It is amazing how full the movie theaters are on Christmas Day!

On Christmas Eve, I also cook a special dinner. We have prime rib.

We don't do this every year but often enough....we go to Highland Park and take the carriage rides. Beautiful and fun.

At this point, our traditions are "expected" because we are set in our ways. Daughter helps with the preparation now.

On Thanksgiving, we have the tradition on stuffed turkey and home made cranberry sauce. We went out of town 1 time for Thanksgiving about 4 yrs ago and on the plane ride back, daughter asked if I would please make "our" dinner when we get home.

I know it is a little early but I have an Easter tradition of making candy and I've done that since daughter was a baby. She now helps as well as some friends and people start asking me for my Easter egg candy about a month before Easter! last year we made 300 candy eggs.

Sorry for TMI, I love the traditions and seeing new families creating their own.

Have a great holiday season

She is getting to an age where you probably want Christmas to be sooo special for her but also realize that she is so lucky to have the family she does. We take our son to Toys R Us every year and let him pick out a toy he would like to donate to a less fortunate child. That way he knows that there are other kids out there that might not have as good of a Christmas as him. We actually started this when I was pregnant with him.

The Tarantula train in Grapevine also does the Polar Express every year. They serve hot chocolate and all the kids come in their pajamas.

Just drving around and looking at Christmas lights is wonderful. You can bring hot chocolate and marshmallows. Put in a christmas CD and sing Christmas carols.

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. I often feel so overwhelmed with gratefulness. I am going to mark your post and see what other suggestions you get.

I find all kinds of new things to bake! The teachers at school love and despise me all in the same breath! We always find somthing that the kids can help me with. Also we adopt an angel from our church tree, and we take the kids to the store and have them pick out around $50 in assorted toys. We then take the toys to a Toys for Tots event so the kids can see the Marines (my hubby is a veteran).

On Christmas Eve we pull out Santa's cookie plate and look at the letters that he's left us in the past as well as the cookies we have baked for him. On the side of the cookie plate box I have written what cookies we made for him. We bake the cookies that afternoon, usually go to an early mass. We come home and have dinner (usually steak) and clean up. Then we put PJ's on and drive around and look at christmas lights. We come home and "force the kids to bed" and then get up way too early on Christmas morning :-)

Also my husband and I always splurge and get a really nice bottle of wine to enjoy after the kids go to sleep. If it's cold enough we build a fire and just enjoy the peace and quiet of each others company uninteruppted.....hmmm that's how we ended up with 2 of our kids (brought to conception on Christmas!)

Have a great season and remember there are a lot of families in need this year that you might not even realize....

Make a gingerbread house for decoration-- they have some neat kits at different local stores...
an advent calendar
an advent wreath
Annebelle's Wish (book and DVD) sweet christmas story about giving/love

As a kid, I always loved reading "T'was the Night Before Christmas". I loved the rhymes and pictures, and I still love the story. I love to make sound effects when reading it to my kids ("woosh" for "...tore open the sash", and other sounds.) :) It's so much fun!

I get a new ornament to add to the tree each year that pertains to some kind of event or milestone in their life that year. For example, some of my sons were a soccer ornament, and a disney world ornament. I write their name and year on the ornament. When they are grown, I plan to give them their ornaments to start their own tree. I am sure that it will be a bit sad as I pack them up though....