Traditions

When our daughters were young we began going to the Sierra's several times a year; in winter we always went cross-country skiing and in the summer we would hike and swim. We always rented a cabin or mountain home and loved the time we spent in the mountains. This continued on even after our girls got married and started families; maybe not as often but we'd always try to get up there at least once a year. Cross country skiing was replaced by snow shoeing and riding saucers and sleds. Two years ago for Christmas, hubby, our two girls and their families and I rented a large home in the mountains. It was a wonderful time for all of us for this was the first year we all were there bright and early Christmas morning. The fun of having all our grandchildren with us, 5 at the time, was amazing. To see Christmas through a child's eyes is wondrous. The picture above was taken that Christmas and although we didn't have a white Christmas that morning we did get snow. Some of our family traditions that began with our daughters were watching a holiday movie on Christmas Eve. My girls favorite was always Little House on the Prairie and of course the classics of old-Miracle on 34th Street is just one of the classics we loved. We did indeed watch movies together. Hubby and I never put out presents until after our girls were in bed and it held true this particular year as well. You can imagine the glee and giggles as 5 little ones came downstairs and found presents galore under the tree. Another tradition is that there were always brand new pajamas on their beds on Christmas Eve. For many years I still got all the grand kids p.j.'s but now have passed that tradition onto their parents to continue~with seven it gets a tad bit pricey.
One tradition we didn't do that year was traveling around our area to see Holiday decorations and Christmas lights. We did that here last year and it was fun to explore our new area looking for beautiful lights while listening to carols and hymns on the car radio. We don't have to travel anymore to be in the snow and although we aren't up in the Rockies we have a beautiful view.
There are so many treasured memories of years past and I look forward to making new traditions as the little ones get bigger.
What are some of your holiday traditions? If you are a grandparent are you still able to partake in them with your grandchildren?
Have a joyous day and remember Jesus is the reason for the season.