I recently agreed to take part in my first collaborative blogging opportunity in the form of a Christmas themed ‘Blog Hop.’ The whole idea was to share the work of fellow bloggers in a non-competitive way, while still writing about what you enjoy. A list of the other fantastic bloggers involved can be found at the end of this post, please take a moment to visit and discover some hidden gems!
When we think about the festive period, many different traditions come to mind. When I was little, I would beg my mum to let me help her decorate the tree. I would also spend hours playing with her knitted nativity set and was adamant that Baby Jesus should not be displayed until Christmas Day! Now that I have my own family, I am keen to develop new traditions for us all to enjoy.
After seeing numerous posts on Facebook about 'Christmas Eve Boxes' we decided to give it a try with our family - the kids loved it, so it became a tradition! Each person (myself and my partner also take part) receives their box on the afternoon of December 24th to open and enjoy for the rest of the day. Contents may vary from year to year, but will always include the following:
Pyjamas - Everyone loves new pyjamas at Christmas
DVD - To snuggle up and watch while it's cold outside
Sachet of Hot Chocolate - To warm us as we wait for Santa
Bag of Sweets - To munch while watching the DVD
The children also get a bath bomb each, from Lush’s Christmas range, to use before they get into their new pyjamas. We sit down to watch their new movies with them until bedtime then we get into our own new pyjamas and enjoy a whisky with our own new DVDs. As this is usually the first day we all have off together, it’s a great start to the festive period and gives us a chance to relax before visiting the rest of the family.
Another new tradition is our annual ‘Festive Food Hamper’ which my mum puts together for us each Christmas. She didn’t realise it would be such a huge hit, but when she includes delicacies such as ‘White Chocolate Fudge Sauce’ from M&S (which goes very well with their reindeer Christmas cake), we were bound to want one each year! The contents vary depending on what takes her fancy, but she always includes something special for each person. This year included a specific kind of chocolate biscuit for my partner, dog shaped shortbread for my son and daughter and one of my favourites - salt and vinegar flavoured peanuts! I love this part of the holidays and we are very grateful to my mum for making sure we have lots of little treats during the festive period.
Christmas is not only a time for family, it's also very important to us that we spend time with our friends over the holidays. I host regular themed DVD nights, and Christmas is no exception! This year I asked everyone to wear Christmas jumpers to get into the spirit of things, and I'm pleased to say that it was a success, with a prize awarded for the best one! Each person brought some festive food, and another prize was awarded for the tastiest dish - this year it was traditional homemade Lebkuchen, a favourite at Christmas time!
I hope this has provided you with a brief insight into how we enjoy the holidays. After we get married (December 2016), we hope to tie our anniversary celebrations into more festive traditions.
Please don't forget to check out some of the other lovely blogs below:
Sara Lafountain http://cookwith5kids.com
Erin Cox http://www.lifeabundantlyblog.com
Katie Mullis Crenshaw http://twelveandsix.com
Clarissa Laskey http://www.clarissaexplainsitall.net
Marcia Denise http://www.ciasays.com
Gillian Nicholl http://www.indulgingmum.com
Lauren Shoffner http://crunchandchill.com
Elizabeth Edgar http://mommygonetropical.com
Elanor Brammer http://tiggypoesandflutterbys.blogspot.co.uk
Jennifer Crowther http://www.jennyscrayoncollection.blogspot.co.uk
Kate Walton http://www.akreativewhim.com
Marilyn Arriaga http://www.tiltamom.com
Cindylynn Calzone http://hometownqueenbee.blogspot.co.uk
Courtnee Garr Frimming http://www.ohmyheartblog.com
Kam Kay http://www.thewomentalk.com
Kelley Farrell Ferreira http://www.chicagonow.com/canny-nanny
Samantha Lamb http://mommawantsjava.com
Chanel Cumberbatch http://www.crunchychronicles.com
Rachel Newcombe http://smartmomsmartideas.com
Karen Marie Patten http://spoilmyfamily.com/
Brittany Lass Schwan http://www.beckyandbrittany.com
Rebecca West http://www.craftcreatecalm.com
Esther Steinfield Freedman http://blog.cuteheads.com
Kimberley Mazzarolo http://talesfromthecrib.ca
Liz Jean http://www.cheekydays.com
Julie McCorkle http://julesandco.net
Shannon Hughes Gauger http://dailymomtivity.com
Kristen Marie http://gentleparentingwny.com
Janella Panchamsingh http://www.mabellevie.ca
Kim Robertson http://1200milesaway.com
Lynzy Carey Coughlin http://www.sparklingfootsteps.com
Jannel Alisha http://thevanessachronicles.com
Jennifer Vleira McCullar http://lifewith3boys1girl.com
excellent, but "holidays" really? x
ReplyDeleteIt was one of the titles which people could choose from for the blog hop :)
DeleteHey Elanor I really enjoyed your article about christmas. You know I used to claim to my friends I was the biggest lover of christmas you could ever meet but I think you truely have outdone me well done and I am looking forward to hearing more from your blog :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comment Dan, I will hopefully have more content up soon, so stay tuned ;)
DeleteI LOVE the idea of a Christmas Eve box!
ReplyDeleteWe don't really have any traditions - I suppose, when you don't have kids, there's not that much impetus to make your own - but I do like to collect Christmas tree ornaments in every place that I visit. I'm looking forward to taking them all out of the box over the next couple of days, and remembering where I was when I got each one.
Lis / last year's girl x
Collecting Christmas tree ornaments is a lovely idea! Did you get any new ones this year?
DeleteBecause I've always had kids since I've known my partner, (single teen mum for a while) it feels like we've never had traditions that are just ours... As of Thursday, we will be marking one year until our wedding, so we are going to collect a new tree decoration, and continue every year from now :)