Family,  Holidays,  Marriage Confessions

Haul Out the Holly!

December 6, 2011 /

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We spent the last two weekends getting our house holiday-ready. I love when the house is decorated for Christmas. Coming home after a long day of work to Christmas lights and stockings and presents under the tree feels like going on vacation every day.

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This year, our Christmas plans will include three separate Christmases. That’s right. Three. In a couple weeks, we are driving up to Atlanta for a weekend to do Christmas with my family at my sister’s house. The week before Christmas I have off work and so we are going to do our own family Christmas here at our house with just the four of us. Santa will come a little early for us, but at least he’ll be coming to our own house. And then we’re spending Christmas Eve and day this year with Chris’s family in Pensacola. Three times the family, three times the fun.

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I have to admit, though, that I am the most excited about our own little Christmas here at our house. It will be the first year we’ve had Gracie with us and that is by far the most exciting part. She’s going to be at the perfect age for Christmas. Everything will be so exciting for her.

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I’m really excited though because for the first time, we’ve decided to do a real Christmas at home. In years past when we’ve had to travel for Christmas, we’ve usually picked one night and opened our presents together (first with me and Chris, then later with me, Chris, and Bean). It was so sweet to have a little Christmas all our own, but it was a condensed version of Christmas, really. This year, though, we’ve decided to do a real Christmas morning at our house. Santa is going to come and I can’t wait to set up our living room with presents and goodies and then see Bean Man run down the stairs on “Christmas” morning.

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Since having kids, Chris and I haven’t started too many traditions of our own. For one thing, we’ve usually been traveling and the kids have really been too young to appreciate any kind of real occasion. But this year, Bean is old enough and we’re making the point to start some of our own special memories.

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This year I’m starting the tradition of giving the kids Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. They’ll get to open one present and it’ll be the jammies. Not only will this give them something to open a little early, but it’ll make sure my Christmas pictures are cute! I’m also looking forward to writing a letter to Santa with Bean and leaving milk and cookies for Santa. And I can’t wait for a whole day of laying around our house, basking in the glow of Christmas together. In our Christmas jammies, of course…

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Growing up, Christmases were pretty spectacular. Above and beyond spectacular, actually. And then when Chris and I married, Christmas became even better, even bigger, even more meaningful for me because I got to share it with him. When Bean was born, Christmas was taken to a whole new level with toys and stockings and hours spent playing with a box or a bow. And now that Gracie is here, I can’t wait to experience Christmas as a complete, full family.

I’M SO EXCITED!!!!

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23 Comments

  • Beth

    December 6, 2011 at 9:26 pm Reply

    Katie, a great tradition we have started with our kids is that Santa writes a letter back to the kids. Just a little note, thanking them for being good, etc. Maybe something to work on the next year (being nicer to each other as siblings, helping around the house). Our kids love it!

  • Courtney M

    December 6, 2011 at 9:32 pm Reply

    My family still does new jammies on Christmas Eve. It is my favorite tradition of my family Christmas and I am so excited to share this tradition with my new husband this year.
    Love that you do this tradition too.

  • Trish

    December 6, 2011 at 9:44 pm Reply

    I am 48 years old and my mom still buys everyone Christmas pajamas! This year, she is coming to our house in New Orleans..we’re going to drive along the Mississippi and check out the bonfires that the locals start to light Santa’s way. I’m excited.

    Enjoy the holidays with your family!

  • Kathryn

    December 6, 2011 at 9:50 pm Reply

    In my husband’s family, his mom would give everyone pjs on Christmas Eve but it would be one of “Santa’s Elves” that would drop it off at the front door wrapped. So they would all be sitting down in the den and their dad would sneak off and leave them by the front door, ring the door bell, and run around to the back door, sneaking in while they ran to see if they could catch a glimpse of the elf. To this day, the elf comes – his mom will call us to let us know so, even though the kids are all grown up.

  • jenny-bird

    December 6, 2011 at 9:54 pm Reply

    What a warm and inviting home you’ve made Katie. I remember picking out just the right tree and decorations natural owls and miniature pine cones.

  • Rachel @ The Ongoing Planner

    December 6, 2011 at 10:59 pm Reply

    We always for PJs for Christmas Eve too! My mom buys them for my husband now too, lol. I totally agree that Christmas is spectacular and I love that I also have so many Christmases to go to. Makes me so excited to have kids 🙂 Also, super jealous you get to hav presents under the tree right now, since we can’t with our monster puppy at the moment. Maybe next year!

  • Cassie

    December 7, 2011 at 1:04 am Reply

    Growing up we also opened jammies on christmas eve. But we also opened a book. The book was to get us to bed early and keep our peering eyes away while the stockings were being filled. This is a tradition we continue today.

  • Nikki

    December 7, 2011 at 11:43 am Reply

    Katie, love you blog. I’m newly married so just thinking of starting traditions with my new hubby for the holiday season too. Similar to Beth, my parents used to always write letters to us kids and leave them in our stockings to read on Christmas morning. They were from Mom & Dad, not Santa, and were always full of love and praise and hope – just right for the meaning of the Christmas season. I still look forward to getting that letter every year from my parents, even though I’m no longer a kid. The letter was always better than any trinket that could fill my stocking, and I think my mom was a little jealous that Santa always got credit for the good ideas 🙂 In any case, it’s a tradition I hope to continue with our kids some day!

  • Nikki

    December 7, 2011 at 12:11 pm Reply

    It sounds like you are going to have an amazing Christmas! We are going to end up having multiple Christmases as well, so that we can visit everyone as a newly married couple! I love the pajama idea- I’m thinking of using that as a new tradition! By the way, it’s kind of fun posting right under another Nikki who is newly married too!

  • donna

    December 7, 2011 at 12:22 pm Reply

    We have been doind the Christmas Eve pjs for a few years now and I love it! It is nice to see everyone in the pics in their pjs that fit and no more mismatched (sometimes very frightening mismatching by my son) pjs!

  • Kat

    December 7, 2011 at 8:47 pm Reply

    We’re doing our first Christmas at home too! It’s a TINY bit spoiled because we’ll be going to someone else’s house almost immediately but whatever. We’re doing Christmas morning in our home where we get to make memories. 🙂 I’m psyched!

  • Chris J

    December 8, 2011 at 12:02 pm Reply

    PJs on xmas eve reminds me of A Christmas Story…can you please surprise Chris with a Bunny Suit of PJs. That’d be hilarious!

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