In the kitchen the orange glaze on two cranberry orange buttermilk cakes is setting up, and two loaves of cinnamon cranberry bread are in the final rise before being popped into the oven. Tomorrow morning they'll be delivered to friends and family. There's an old movie playing on the t.v. and my husband has dozed off on the couch while watching it.
We hosted the whole family for a Christmas brunch on Monday and exchanged gifts with the oldest and her family and the youngest and her husband since they'll both be with their in-laws for Christmas this year. Our Christmas tradition is to have boiled eggs, sausage balls, cheese grits, and toasted cinnamon cranberry bread for Christmas breakfast. My husband then reads a blessing that he writes for each one of our daughters and their family for the coming year. Then we open gifts.
Since her sisters won't be home, our middle daughter invited us to join her family for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at their house. My grandson called tonight, and suggested that we just go ahead and spend the night at their house Christmas Eve to avoid having to wait for us to arrive on Christmas Day. We live about two miles away from each other. (smile) We'll make our traditional Christmas dinner in spite of the rest of the family being out of town, boneless leg of lamb, potatoes roasted with bacon and green onion, green bean casserole, salad and homemade rolls.
In my home office, twenty three titles of Jesus hang on my little Christmas tree. Two more names remain to be hung, one tomorrow on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas morning. It's a good way to count down to Christmas, but most of all, a good reminder of all that my Savior is as we celebrate His birth. You can read more about this tradition here.
Earlier this evening my husband and I took a drive to his hometown, 40 minutes north of where we live now, and ate dinner out then drove around looking at Christmas lights. It's been an almost annual holiday outing through the years, the whole family in tow when our daughters lived at home.
Baking our family favorites, counting down the days to Christmas by hanging the titles of Jesus on my little Christmas tree, taking a drive to look at Christmas lights, a familiar and loved Christmas menu, these are a few of our family's Christmas traditions. I'd love for you to share one of your family's Christmas traditions in the comments.
still following,
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteMay you and your family have a most Blessed Christmas!!! ....and A Very Happy New Year!!!!
a sister in Christ,
Addie
Have a VERY wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my dear friend. I loved reading of your Christmas traditions. A tradition that began when I was very young continues to this day. We've reversed it a bit but it's a special time. When I was a little girl we lived in Central Oregon and all of our family was in Southern California. We weren't able to travel to be with them most years so our own traditions soon became very special. After Christmas Eve supper was finished - and my dear mother insisted that the dishes had to be done! - we drove around town to look at Christmas lights. I loved stopped by a live nativity where I was able to imagine a bit of the setting for that first Christmas. Then we went home to hot chocolate and devotions together. When I was very young my dad read the Christmas story from the Bible. As I grew a bit I told the Christmas story to my parents, complete with my mother's flannelgraph board and characters. An illustrated 'sermon', I think. It was always a precious time. Now, each year, we take my dear, little mother out to see Christmas lights and end with a mug of hot chocolate before heading to bed. Precious memories that continue.
ReplyDelete~Adrienne~