Holiday Traditions and Baby Gifts « Back to Group Discussions

[Veritas Vitae]

What is everyone doing for their LO for the holidays? Do you celebrate? What traditions do you have or are you planning on starting?  Anyone doing Santa pictures?

[Veritas Vitae]

We're going to B's parents for Christmas, but next year I really want to do a tree, we decided against it this year.  The Christmas spirit sort of happened here by other people. My grandmother gave me a ceramic Christmas tree lamp with colored bulbs, my mother gave me a Goebel nativity that she won in a church auction when I was a kid, and she also gave me a box of Christmas lights I bought last year to decorate her house. So things are a bit festive around here.

For gifts, I purchased three pairs of baby legs to put in her stocking ($4 cyber Monday sale),and foot and hand rattles (she is fascinated by her feet and hands lately), also for her stocking, a kick and play piano (daddy's pick since she likes to kick and make contact-see a reaction, usually it is us she is kicking), and a skwish toy.  I'd also like to get her a teething toy, I've seen some neat cherry wood teethers, and I really kind of want this speaker/docking station and this sorting/stacking/counting toy.

I feel like she is going to get a ton of stuff from B's family, so I don't want to get her too much, so I am waiting on the speaker, but I think I'm going to go ahead and get the farm stacking/sorting toy.

I'm excited to hear about some holiday traditions from those of you with kids.  My family always did midnight mass on Christmas Eve, then we'd be so tired when we got home and just fall into bed.  We also got an orange and a chocolate orange in our stocking, and B's family gave them a lifesavers book, so he wants to do that for Q. Obviously, we won't start that for a while.

[CCoello]

We took pictures with the lights, I think we'll skip Santa. I am waiting to see what he gets from grandparents etc before buying much - we'll probably do some after-christmas sales shopping :)

One tradition I am anxious to start is having him make and give gifts each year (we can make them together). This year he sort of participated, as we had him stamp his footprint on some mugs for the grandparents. He was hilariously uncooperative, and the footprints are flying misshapen things with random numbers of toes!

[LilyTiger]

I went a little nutso on zulily for Piper.  There was a really cute "ugly" doll or whatever those things are called, a nice wood abacus that she'll play with now and use later, and some little booties since she now has a ton of pants without feet on them.  I think some other things may have "accidentally" fallen into my cart, but I was also shopping for 7 nieces and nephews, so I can't remember what I might have thrown in there for the Pipster.

We have a few holiday traditions I would love to keep up.  DH's family bought each kid an ornament each year, which means that he has a beautiful little collection of meaningful Christmas tree ornaments representing each year of his life.  I would love to do that for Piper. 

DH also makes candy every year to give to the adults in the family (in lieu of presents), which is fun.  Piper will have more fun making things with him when she's older, obviously.

We usually do tons of family stuff -- a big dinner on Christmas Eve, a big brunch Christmas day, and a big dinner Christmas day.  Then lots of dinners thrown in before and after when people come into and leave town.  So one of my traditions is gaining massive amounts of weight.  :(  But I love that in my family, at least, the family togetherness sort of neutralizes or at least waters down the materialistic gift side of Christmas.  We also do a family run on Christmas morning before we have brunch and open presents, though we didn't start that until we were adults.  I would love if Piper's patience allowed us to do that when she gets a little older, but I'm not sure it will.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I am not sure.  Still trying to figure out what I want to do as a family.  I do want Christmas to be magical, at least for that short time that can be.  I had such great memories of that.  I hear some people feel they were lied to but I was thankful that my parents did that for me.  

[justchanti]

We will do more as Eulalie grows, but we've decided we will celebrate St Nicholas day by way of s few treats in our slippers.  We made an advent wreath and a little advent spiral this year too, which, obviously, she isn't participating in, but one  day will.  We are also doing the 4 gifts only thing (something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read).  For the something to wear bit 've decided I'd knit her a sweater every year (until she doesn't let me anymore).  I'm almost done with this year's sweater.  I was uncertain about santa claus (as we're doing st nicholas too), but my husband really wanted it, so we compromised that santa claus (or father winter) will fill the stockings, but we'll give the gifts.  We will spend Christmas Eve with my family (we have a traditional Slovak meal, with hay underneath the table cloth, and a coin blessing) and this year will probably just spend the night there.  In the future I like the idea of being in our home for Christmas day.  I saw one tradition that I look forward to implementing which is having (older) children light a large collection of candles that have been collected through out the year (as a symbol of light filling the world) on Christmas Eve.  This jives with us well as we are not very religious, but believe in the importance of this season's message.  I also like the idea of sharing a little bit of the Christmas story every night leading up to Christmas with a nativity scene on our nature table becoming more elaborate as the days pass.  On Christmas Eve,  Mary and Joseph will show up in the manger with the addition of the child on Christmas day.  I like the idea of taking a walk every Christmas as well.

Lily:  I like the idea of collecting an ornament for each child every year.  So sweet.   I think we'll do that. 

[Veritas Vitae]

My mother did ornaments for us each year and then gave them to us when we moved out.  Unfortunately, she gave me mine when I was still rather transient, and I lost them all.  :(  I'm planning on doing an ornament each year for Quinn and also for B.  I should clue him into this as well.  I will wait until Quinn settles down to give her all of her ornaments.

[iixivboots]

We're getting Lyle a bunch of Eric Carle books since he LOVES Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Also some squishy blocks (bright starts ones on amazon) and then maybe a leash for his Sophie and some Ergo drool pads from etsy. I have some paypal balance to play with on etsy so maybe I'll get something else, too.

I don't know about traditions yet.

I'm super excited (Harry Potter nerd alert) that his aunt knit him a "Weasley Sweater" and I can't wait to do photos.

[Tizzy]

Our main tradition is to brave the crowds on boxing day to pick out a special ornament each. It's fun because it's so hectic, and the only ornaments left have "character". My favourite is a one-legged frog lol!

I plan to give each child their ornaments when they are grown up. Every year my sister and I had our own box of ornaments, we'd carefully decorate the tree then put them away in our individual boxes, I still have the original cardboard box I had growing up (along with the ornaments!)  DH doesn't have any ornaments so this is why we've been collecting our own together. The tree is looking a little crowded already though LOL

I do an advent calendar for the kids of little fun toys or games or fun snacks like babybel cheese. I'm so over candy and sugary treats so this is a nice respite. We will not be going anywhere on Christmas day, I feel terrible making that decision since my MIL was almost in tears, but it's just not fun to wake the kids up, rush through our own presents and breakfast then rush to get them dressed and drive down to spend the rest of the day/evening there. We're the only ones with young kids, and the other three families end up rushing to get to their other side of the family dinners that day too. I offered to host up here, but that was a no-go for MIL.

Oh well, this may be the year to change things up because we're going on Christmas eve instead and two other siblings will be there as well. It would be soooooo nice if we could always do Christmas eve there! To me that's so cozy!

Gil's Christmas list is pretty short, I'm making him a wood play gym thing, he has a couple new small toys including a sophie, a new outfit, a couple classic books and a bath seat for the tub haha  practical, but he'll definitely appreciate it instead of fighting for room with his siblings haha

[LilyTiger]

I'm such a dork, but I just got the package from zulily with most of Piper's presents and I really really want to open them all and play with them!  But then she wouldn't have anything under the tree.  And while that's not exactly a tragedy for a 4 month old, I know I should just keep my hands off.  I'm going to wrap everything in brown paper though because the colorful stuff just seems more wasteful than usual since she won't even really see all the fun presents under the tree.  I guess it's wasteful in general, but it's fun when they're older. 

I got Piper an abacus, a little wooden puzzle game thing, some socks and a pair of stay-on booties, and an Ugli doll sort of thing (not the same company, but the same idea).  My friend got us a really cute "hipster" owl (we like to get each other handmade hipster presents as a nod to Portlandia), so now I have to come up with something similar for her little guy (Piper's gestational buddy).  I'm still thinking though...

[Veritas Vitae]

Haha, I feel like I got Quinn a lot now.  We didn't do any clothes, because we just pick those up at thrift stores as she needs them.  

Our final gift list for Quinn includes:

-The Night Before Christmas board book (25 cents at the thrift store - score!)

-three pairs Baby Legs 

-cloth sorting/stacking/counting farm

-wooden Skwish toy

-kick and play piano

-wrist and foot rattles

-personalized first Christmas ornament

-appliqued ASL "I love you" onesie

Next year I want to try making more of her gifts, I just don't have the crafty skills yet to do it this year.  I'm working on it though.

[pennywhistle]

If I get my act together, I'm going to make Atticus a stocking & first ornament this weekend.  Other than that we aren't getting him anything.  Although I'll rewrap some toys that we got at the shower that he hasn't seen yet.  My husband's cousin sent him some new clothes, and I know my parents are going to give him stuff, so I think he should be just fine.

[LilyTiger]

I forgot the coolest present we got Piper: The Essential Latin Olivia.  It's an Olivia picture book entirely in Latin!  I was hoping there would be English subtitles, but no luck.  Guess I'll have to rock out my Latin reader from college at some point.  But I can't believe that book exists.  Awesome-town.

[iixivboots]

In sort of the same vein, my friends got Lyle the babylit board book of A Christmas Carol (Dickens not Disney!) They have a bunch and I think we'll be getting more, they are super cute.

[LilyTiger]

Ah, Boots, my cousin got us the Pride and Prejudice version!  It's amazing.  Love it.  Definitely getting more!