Make Christmas Last in the Minds of Your Little Ones: Inexpensively

By the time Kate and I finish all of the Christmas posts this season, you are probably going to think we are complete Scrooges.  What I want to mention today is that you don't have to go broke for Christmas just because you want to create a magical experience for your family.

One way to create this magic is to enact traditions year after year.  Here are a few examples of what we did/do. These are only suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.

• Every year we would cut our own tree from land my parents owned.  
• Upon the start of Advent we set up the Nativity Scene and keep baby Jesus hidden until Christmas morning.  The youngest in the family places baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning.
• When we were younger, all of us would sleep on the floor in the same room on Christmas Eve.  
• Write a note to your next year self in the Christmas decorations.  When you get the decorations out each year, you can reflect on how the past year has changed you and what you look forward to in the new year.
• Every year Kate and I take pictures of our kids to replace a picture in frames that we gave our parents and grandparents several years ago.  
• Make a certain meal or dish yearly to signify 'good luck' in the new year.  We always made black eyed peas, it's a German tradition.  

You can create memorable traditions for your family that don't have to cost a lot of money.  Also, depending on the age/stage of your children, these traditions might not always be fun and enjoyable.  For example, most years the collection/cutting of the Christmas tree was traumatic.  We would all (6 of us) cram into the truck and pick out a tree.  Freshly cut trees produce a lot of sap and my mom would yell at my dad about watching the sap when he brought it into the house.  Mom's job was the lights and then FINALLY we could do ornaments when she did the lights.  Now, as a mother myself, I completely understand this angst, but at the time I thought my mom was a Grinch.  Funny how that happens with soooo many things, huh?  

So, just go with it.  Your kids will talk about many of these traditions for years to come and the more drama that surrounds them, the better they will be embedded in their memories... right?  :)