Tradition: sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights. Happy Christmas to all. ~Betsy Cañas Garmon
As our kids have gotten older some of our traditions have changed, but others have remained the same. One of the traditions most loved by my children is the opening of one gift per child on Christmas Eve. Usually that one gift is something that the entire family can enjoy such as a game or a movie.
One of our best Christmas Eves was spent in a hotel room playing with a barrel of monkeys and a Rubik’s Cube. We had hours of fun just playing together as a family.
My favorite part of Christmas Eve begins after the kids have gone to bed. That is when David and I begin our work. We eat Santa’s cookies and then wrap any unwrapped presents and put together any presents that need to be put together. Then all of the other presents are removed from their hiding places and placed under the tree. We locate batteries, screwdrivers and the camera and make sure that everything is ready for Christmas morning. Then we sit on the sofa watching the lights on the tree twinkle. Sometimes if it is cold enough we have a fire in the fireplace. During this quiet time I sit and reflect on all of the blessings we have had through out the year.For many years our Christmas Eve tradition was to attend a family party or gathering. Those gatherings were always fun. Many times we would attend a Christmas Eve service or program. However, a few years ago we decided that we needed to stay home for the holidays so our traditions have changed a little. Its hard being away from family during the holiday time, but is hard to travel during this time too. We knew once Caleb graduated high school and started college that things would need to change.
Photos by Donna