Every year David and I have a tradition of doing something different. Last year we drove around and looked at Christmas lights in a very nice neighborhood. One year we saw A Christmas Carol at the Dallas Theater Center. It’s nice doing something special, just the two of us. We really like trying new things, so that’s our tradition.

This year we’re making gingerbread men. Well, actually, I’m making the dough. David and I will roll out the dough, bake them and decorate them. And guess what? I bought the frosting. It’s extravagant for me to pay $4 for frosting when I could easily make it for pennies, but I wanted to make sure we had fun, and that this wouldn’t become stressful or a big mess for me to clean up.

My sister-in-law sews a jingle bell on her sons’ stockings every Christmas. It’s so simple, but so special.

I know a family that has lots of nativity scenes throughout their home. They don’t put the baby Jesuses in the manger until Christmas. They gather as a family, and give each child a baby. They tell the children to find the matching nativity scene and as they search, they should pray for someone other than themselves. Then the children come back and share who they prayed for. Sometimes the children pray for the dog or their mommy. Isn’t that sweet?

When my brothers and I were little, my mother had two nativity scenes. One fancy one that we weren’t supposed to touch, and one made out of fabric that we could play with. And play with it we did! We loved to rearrange the scene. When we were older, my mother asked Brother #3 to set up her fancy nativity scene. He put a cow on the roof. I’m not sure why he did that , but it’s a funny memory.

What are your Christmas traditions?

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• Christmas 2009
• Christmas in Dallas
• Home for Christmas in Texas