Christmas traditions in my family have changed over the years. When the kids were little, we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Now they receive money ahead of time and get to spend it however they wish.
My youngest spends it as soon as it touches his fingers, my daughter waits until she can get to the mall and my oldest holds onto it for a while.
Another tradition we had when they were younger was to read stories like “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Now we play games like Uno, Apples to Apples or Catch Phrase.
We used to put out Christmas cookies. Now we bake them together.
We used to get up early Christmas morning. Now my teens sleep in.
There are so many other ways that Christmas is different. But the one thing that is constant is spending time together. How we do that and what we do may change through the years but our love for each other never will.
When it comes to Christmas traditions, it has less to do with what it involves and more with being together. No matter how old or how busy they get, we will always be able to look forward to this time of the year in which we are together.
This year the word “together” holds special meaning to me. It is the last year of high school for my oldest. It is a reminder of how fast time goes by. Yet despite the fact that time keeps ticking away, I can always know that Christmas will be that one time of the year in which we are guaranteed to be together.
Our family isn’t perfect. I’m not the best mom in the world and my husband isn’t the best father. My children sometimes mess up. But despite our imperfections, we love being together and that is all that really matters.
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Photo by tracey r in Flickr