Starting Christmas traditions!

I always dreamt (pre-baby) that I would have all of these elaborate

traditions when I had kids.

Dreams of perfect pictures, adorable crafts and lots of

Christmas fun always filled my head.

And to be honest, I still have those dreams.

BUT.....Y'all, I have a confession to make...I really don't remember Christmas last year. I had a newborn baby, and I was doing well if I actually got a shower. My days were filled with hour-long nursing sessions, lots of baby coos and kisses and sweet newborn lovin'. I can't believe I actually got my Christmas tree up in the state I was in.

There's no way I could have started any traditions, let alone make a statement that made sense, last year. So, we decided to start with a clean slate this year.

Annie Louise is still a wee too young for many things,

but we have definitely have some ideas...

Like our "Aunts and SheShe" Christmas party - I for sure think that will become a tradition for years to come - my hope is that all my future nieces and nephews will come, too, and we can have a grand ole time!

We made these salt dough ornaments with AL at our party...they were so easy to make, and I am going to try my hardest to make some sort of "handprint" ornament each year.

Salt Dough Ornaments

4 cups of flour

1 cup of salt

Add water slowly until it has a dough-like consistency

Roll out flat with a rolling pin and make into the shape you want for each handprint (we did circles). Press handprint down into dough to make an impression. Use a straw to make a hole for some ribbon. Bake for an hour or so at 150 degrees or leave out to dry for 24+ hours. You can put a coat of paint on them to add a special touch.

Make sure you right the child's name and date on the back!

Another tradition starter...I purchased a pad of artist's paper to make a print for us to frame and hang up each Christmas. I just brushed a little bit of finger paint onto mine, B's and AL's thumbs and made thumbprints scattered around the page. Then I used a black paint pen to "connect" all the thumbprints and outlined each one so that they looked like Christmas bulbs.

Cute, huh?!

I plan on doing a different print each year, and then I hope to have a

whole collage of prints at Christmas!

So, no matter what your traditions - be it opening pajamas, reading the Christmas story or going caroling...make it YOURS! It's those little things that our children will always remember...and hopefully remember with a smile on their little faces!

Merry Christmas!

LeeLee