But it’s not even Halloween yet! Why on earth are we talking about Christmas today? Well, first: Christmas is the most magical time of the year, but you have to PLAN the magic well in advance. And second, the Junior League of San Antonio has their 21st annual Holiday Olé Market starting TOMORROW and its got me in the holiday spirit already! This will be our first year being in the States for more than a couple days before Christmas, so I’m planning on going all out with decorations, activities, and general merriment to make the season Cora, and I, will never forget. My mom always did a fabulous job of making the holidays a time to remember in our family, so I’ve already started thinking about the various traditions that I will be stealing, er, carrying on, now that I have a family of my own. Do any of these take place in your family too?
1. Christmas pajamas the night before.
It never failed, our first Christmas present would be pajamas at Grandma’s house, so when we passed out in the car we could be swiftly carried upstairs by my parents. And then we looked cute and coordinated for Christmas morning pictures. See evidence below. 🙂
2. Writing Santa’s name on half the presents – in “Santa’s handwriting”.
Although I will admit Santa’s handwriting looked more and more like my mom’s as the years went by. Weird.
3. Refusing to acknowledge that I may or may not be Santa even when Cora is 27 years old.
I’m not kidding, my mom will not admit that there is no Santa Claus. Or tooth fairy, or Easter bunny. TO THIS DAY. And as annoying as it was when I was younger, I totally plan on being the same way with Cora.
4. Christmas Eve service at church.
We would try to time out church right before heading to Grandma’s, to remember the true reason for the season. There is just something magical about Christmas Eve church, don’t you agree?
5. Homemade hot chocolate after playing outside.
I don’t know why, but homemade hot chocolate always tasted better when you’re defrosting from a snowy afternoon outside. And then your toes start to do that burning/tingling thing where you wonder if maybe they’re actually falling off. It may not get that cold in San Antonio, but I’m making hot chocolate nonetheless. With extra marshmallows.
6. Cookies for Santa, carrots for Rudolph.
One of my best friend’s mom made us a little plate that said “Cookies for Santa” and I’m thinking about having her make a similar one for Cora as well. Then we would leave a separate plate with carrots for Rudolph. And they would all be magically eaten when we woke up.
7. Cutting down the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.
We had an actual Christmas tree farm about 30 minutes from our house, but I need to investigate if there is any such thing here in San Antonio or nearby. I’m praying yes, because there is a certain camaraderie you develop with your siblings waking up on a holiday weekend to go manually cut down a tree and drag it to your car. The family that kills trees together, stays together.
8. Decorating the tree together.
Then of course we all had to decorate the tree together, and my mom was the designated sit-back-and-make-sure-it’s-done-right person. Which also meant hooking all the ornaments up with paper clip hooks so they were ready for each kid to pick up and place on the tree. The end result always ended up looking like this every year:
Also, that’s what presents for six children looks like. Yup.
9. Nativity scene hand-me-down.
My mom has a very special nativity scene that she always places in the same spot in our house every year. For my first Christmas as a married woman she bought one for me too and I love putting it out every year and carrying on my own tradition.
10. Train under the tree.
We went through several train sets when I was growing up, mainly because someone would step on the track and break it or we would lose too many pieces. But we always had one going around the bottom of the tree, and last year my parents bought Cora her own train set for our tree. I love setting it up and watching her little eyes sparkle with wonder.
11. Pictures on the staircase before opening presents.
We always line up oldest to youngest, squirming and wiggling to hurry up and take the picture so we can go dive in to all the presents. But it’s a ritual and I love seeing the photos now. Although Cora may not have the patience for it this year, it will be way cuter next year when her and her baby sister sit on the steps! Cue pregnancy hormonal crying from me.
12. Ice skating on grandpa’s pond.
My Grandpa Smith had a pond that we loved to skate on in the winter, and luckily my parents now have a pond as well so we can continue the tradition. Here in San Antonio, we might have to settle for the fake ice at Schlitterbahn, but it will be fun/dangerous nonetheless.
13. Siblings presents.
Once all my siblings were old enough to pick something out for each other besides gum or hot wheels, we all became responsible for buying each sibling one small present under a certain dollar amount each year. As much as it pains my wallet to buy presents for five brothers and sisters, I appreciate that my parents have us do it, because it forces me to sit and think about each of my siblings and what they would want for Christmas. And then opening those presents inevitably becomes everyone’s favorite part of Christmas morning.
14. Telling your spouse you don’t want anything, but still getting each other something every year.
My mom and dad ALWAYS say they don’t want to do gifts for each other this year, and then they ALWAYS end up getting each other a little token or a grand gesture in the form of a surprise vacation or something only crazy lovebirds do. I’m glad they never forgot about each other though, as much effort and time as they put in to our gifts. I fully plan on getting Orlando at least a little something each year, if only to remind him that he’s still the most important man in my life.
15. Board games and holiday leftovers the day of Christmas.
I LOVE board games any time of year. But something about board games on Christmas morning just feels extra wonderful to me. And munching on leftovers and an embarrassing amount of desserts the entire day long is really what the holiday is all about. Just kidding. But my mom’s monster cookies ARE pretty magical.
Anything you’ll add to the list for your family? I literally have maybe one box of Christmas decorations, so I’m definitely planning on stocking up tomorrow at the Olé Market’s preview night. The event will be benefiting the Junior League of San Antonio which has various charitable initiatives throughout the year, including a campaign to eradicate childhood obesity. All the festivities are hosted at the Exposition Hall at the Freeman for just the next few days, so be sure to enter to win tickets below so you can see what all the festivities are about! And keep an eye on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook tomorrow for a sneak peak at all the goodies to be had! For more information about the Olé Market and tickets, click here.
XO,
A
P.S. I am receiving complimentary tickets to the Olé Market in exchange for this post. Don’t worry though, all opinions are my own!
