December 4, 2009

This is how we Christmas!

My friend Lisa (I have met her in real breathing life, so I am calling her friend) here is hosting This is how we Christmas! She has a cute blog button that I could put on here if I knew how. But as you probably know, I can only type on the computer and nothing else! Someone help me!

So, onto Christmas!

Christmas Calendars!
Our Christmas traditions are few. The one that is the longest tradition we have is the chocolate advent calendar. It really isn't even an advent calendar as much as it is a chocolate countdown to Christmas calendar. It is a cardboard calendar with windows that are numbered 1-24. When you open a window there is a piece of chocolate behind it and it is your prize for the day! We had a calendar one year that had little (and when I say little, think Polly Pockets shoe little!) trinket toys inside. That was awful and we will never do that again!!
We buy each child a calendar and sometimes I even get one. We have bought these calendars at several different places. Cracker Barrel, Dollar General, and this year Michael's had them. Usually we try to buy them after Christmas and freeze them (and then the chocolate has all that white on it-yuck!) but we didn't do that this year. And it was a scramble to get them by Dec 1! In fact Mom picked them up for us this year on the 1st and delivered them to us in the hospital before Henry was born. We barely made it!

Breakfast!
My mother always fixes a brunch on Christmas morning. Eggs, biscuits, sausage, bacon, gravy, and garlic cheese grits. Oh my goodness. I love garlic cheese grits! We only have them on Christmas morning I don't know why we don't sample the goodness any other time. We really should! This year Christmas will be at my house and I will be making the garlic cheese grits. Any prayers you would like to offer up on my behalf are welcome and encouraged! HA!

Christmas Eve Gift!
This is what we say when we answer the phone on Christmas Eve. It began on my moms side of the family as a fun game between the adults. Whoever said it first got a prize of some sort. Something little but fun. Then the cousins got older and it became bigger. Now we all say it and no matter who said it first everyone gets a little gift. This keeps me from having to let the kids open a gift on Christmas Eve. I just tell them they already had their Christmas Eve Gift, even if it was just socks or a slinky!

I'm sure there are many others but these three are my favorite traditions and it just wouldn't be Christmas without them. I think I will ask the kids what their favorite traditions are and see if they name any of these. I'll get back with you on that!

8 comments:

  1. I couldn't figure out how to get the button either! You are so lucky to know Lisa IRL! I love the chocolate countdowns, but with 3 kids I didn't want to buy them each one (call me cheap) and I didn't want to referee each day who's turn it was. I should have just got one for myself! lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Would you mind if my family comes by for breakfast? :) Ha! Sounds delicious. I have never seen those calendars before. I will have to look for one now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. How do you keep the kids from fighting over the chocolate in the calendar. I would have to buy on for each child.

    You are the second to mention "Christmas Eve gift." I had never heard of it until today. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, I think an advent calendar of CHOCOLATE just makes perfect since!

    I believe someone else who linked up mentioned a Christmas Eve Gift game. I had never heard of that. Sounds fun.

    And did I catch that right--someone just had a baby? Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love that we share the same traditions. Christmas will be so different for us this year as we are apart, but it makes my heart smile to know that we are opening the advent calendar together each morning in our own homes, eating garlic cheese grits together at the same time on Christmas morning, and saying Christmas Eve gifts to each other on the phone. I do love our traditions and I love you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Garlic cheese grits? Recipe please. :))

    BTW - You really gotta check out my latest post...You'll like it...:)))))))))

    ReplyDelete
  7. I will sooooooooooo miss you being in the Fort this Christmas! You'll do great with the grits! You know I have NEVER made them either... I always just left that up to your mom! Another tradition you didn't mention are the little cheese balls with the olive stuck in them! You need to make those, too! I think we'll do something untraditional... maybe Sweet and Sour Chicken! Come on down! Love, YFA (TBEO)

    ReplyDelete