Well, we sent off a care package
for our little guy; it included a stuffed lion and a stuffed frog and several
clothing items. As usual, it was a
bittersweet moment, trying to be included in his life right now, with the
understanding that we really aren’t. He is simply too young to understand the
process and planning swirling around him.
The conversations of late has been
what family traditions to pass along…which traditions from each of our families
should we keep and which should we let go by the wayside and what new ones
should we create? So far, the only one we have figured out was probably accidental. We have traditionally put up our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, (except for our first Christmas, when we were in the middle of a move to our current location). While my husband and I have exchanged a few gifts each Christmas, we prefer to spend a majority of our resources on adventures…from hiking, to snow shoeing, to sea kayaking, etc. We want to create memories and experiences with each other and want to pass that concept along to our little guy. Last weekend, we even went shopping for a kid carrier/backpack so that he could go with us. Certainly, we are looking forward to giving him gifts and enjoying Christmas through his eyes, but we are really looking forward to the traditions of family adventures. We are also hoping that we never achieve the National Lampoon’s family vacation status.
I’m
curious, how have you combined family traditions and/or made new ones? What kinds of traditions were important for
you to pass along, which ones weren’t?
My husband and I (unintentionally) have started an ornament collection of sorts. We got a personalized one on our first trip together to Bronner's, were gifted another personalized one from there at our wedding, and he has since purchased a personalized "First Christmas" ornament from Bronner's for our little boy...
ReplyDeleteWe also collect ornaments. We collect hallmark ornaments and make it a point to go to hallmark the day after Christmas to shop for new ones. It is so nice to put our ornaments on the tree every year and think of the memories each one of them brings. So fun!
ReplyDeleteWe also have a bit of an ornament collection from our travels. Its so fun to decorate the tree and talk about all the trips we have taken. We have some really cute ornaments from places like Ireland and Australia and also some strange ones from Roswell, NM. We are missing one from Paris though.. since I had so much morning sickness I couldn't do any shopping!
ReplyDeleteThis year we are traveling for Christmas so I have a bit of time to think about what we want to do when little H is old enough to remember. All I know is it will involve PJ's, snuggles and a little bit of chocolate!
We also get an ornament while on our travels...it is super fun to pull out the ornaments and remember the trips, hiking trails and funny stories that happened. We figure that our Christmas ornaments and tree are very scrapbook like :)
ReplyDelete