We love holidays, although—I confess—we play favorites. Many
of our holiday traditions came from either my family or my husband’s. I hope
these traditions become wonderful memories for our children that help them feel
loved and that their lives are blessed and meaningful.
Halloween
I particularly love Halloween. It probably started because I
loved candy as well. What could be more magical than to present yourself at
each house and be given candy for free?
My mom made Halloween even more magical because she is an
incredible seamstress. At a time when most kids had to wear either cheesy
plastic costumes or something thrown together think, “hobo” or “cowboy,” my mom
could make any of our Halloween dreams come true.
This is something that I really love doing with our kids.
About the time they start school in the Fall, we start planning for Halloween.
We could discuss forever what they would like to be for Halloween, but by the
end of September they have to make their final decision. I am not a great
seamstress, but I’m good enough to whip up some Halloween fun. Our boys love
knowing that they can pick almost anything for their Halloween costume, and we
can probably make it happen.
I’ve made all sorts of costumes for them. Their Ninjago
costumes were probably their most glorious, since I had to figure out how to
make armor. This last Halloween they both wanted to be Pokemon trainers. I made
these costumes as well. If you don’t know what Pokemon are, consider yourself
lucky. Our boys frequently end up dressing as variations of the same thing,
because Adam wants to dress up with his brother.
Since we’ve lived in our current house, I’ve had the extra
fun of getting to dress up as well. Halloween is awesome in our neighborhood.
There is a neighborhood party a few days before Halloween with bounce houses,
music, food, climbing walls, and pony rides. Yes, pony rides. I know it is
outrageous, but it is so much fun.
Also, my neighbor and friend throws a fabulous Halloween
party to celebrate her October birthday every year. Last year it had a Great
Gatsby theme, and we all dressed up as flappers. This year the theme was “Dia
De Los Muertos.” She has a DJ with dancing, great food, and magicians. I’m so
glad that I can still be a kid at Halloween. Brent also likes it when I help
him with a Halloween costume. This year he was a pirate. Every boy wants to be
a pirate, even if they’re a very big boy.
Thanksgiving
It’s all about the food. We host Thanksgiving dinner almost
every year. When my parents down-sized their house, they gave us their huge
dining room table. We can seat a crowd, and at Thanksgiving we frequently have
about twenty-five loved ones over for dinner. Everybody brings their favorite
dish, and the food is plentiful and delicious.
Brent makes sure that the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing
and gravy are all top-notch. I frequently throw in some fresh green beans and a
yummy salad to try and balance out all the rich food.
Christmas
I love the feeling of Christmas. It just feels like there is
more love and tolerance for everyone during December. We do Christmas
activities all month long. We love listening to Christmas music. As part of
this, we attend a great Christmas concert as a family each year. Last year both
of our boys sang in this choir, which was an absolutely wonderful memory.
We also go see Christmas lights. The local LDS temple has
beautiful Christmas lights that we go visit every year. There is also a very
fun street in our neighborhood where several houses choreograph a light show to
Christmas music. Our kids love it, particularly Adam.
We make gingerbread houses, and bring treats to our
neighbors. Our kids like helping to give out these “Christmas Loves.” My kids
love choosing and buying presents for their family. Picking these gifts is one of
the highlights of the season.
We fully decorate our house for Christmas and enjoy the
extra magic all the Christmas lights bring. One of our favorite Christmas
traditions is a small thing, but it really makes us happy. On the gift tags,
instead of simply writing the names of who the present is to and who it is
from, we write complements or funny clues that they have to figure out. Half of
the delight of opening a present is reading the extra love that is written on
your tag.
We also try to remember as a family what Christmas is really
about. We talk about loving people and about how Christ loves us. We read the
Christmas story of Christ’s birth to our kids. We go to church. We sing
Christmas songs. Both of my boys were born in late November about a month
before Christmas. I remember rocking them at night as newborns and singing
Christmas carols to them. This is one of my favorite memories, and has added an
extra depth of sweetness to my feelings about Christmas.
Valentine’s Day
My mom always made Valentine’s Day fun. She would make a
big, extra wonderful Valentine’s dinner, decorate the table, and have little
wrapped gifts next to everyone’s plate. I loved this and this is what we do as
well.
On Valentine’s Day we have a family dinner with presents, love
notes, and some of our favorite food. Most of the time we invite extended
family as well. Brent and I, hopefully, get away on another evening to have a
romantic date by ourselves.
Easter
We have fun decorating eggs and hiding Easter Baskets. I
have great memories of Easter as a child, and I really enjoy making Easter a
special time for our kids.
We typically have a big Easter egg hunt with cousins and a
big Easter dinner with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
We also talk about Christ at Easter and attend Church. I
feel that Easter is an incredibly hopeful time of year.
Birthdays
We celebrate birthdays in a big way. At least for the kids.
Adult birthdays are a little quieter, but are also a special time to show love
and appreciation.
I have wonderful memories of birthday parties as a child,
and we throw birthday parties every year for our kids. For the last few years
our boys wanted to have their birthday parties together, since their birthdays
are only two days apart. But this last year they each requested their own
party.
About a month before their birthday we start talking about
what type of party they would like to have. We frequently hold them outside at
the park, since the weather is lovely in November.
This year Adam wanted a Pokemon party and John wanted an
Olympic party. The boys each help me plan the activities for their party, and
help me create decorations and party games. This is a really fun, bonding
activity that we do together. I think they feel loved and special working on
their birthday parties with me, and it gives us a chance to be creative and
play together. Brent really pitches in and helps to get some of the activities
together and to help wrangle all the kids during the party.
I wish I had better pictures of their parties, because they
have been truly glorious, but I’m always so breathlessly busy during the
parties that good photos almost never happen. But we all have great memories of
their birthdays that still make us smile.
