Christmas is a big deal for us. Not just because my mom and dad always made sure it was a fun and memorable time of the year as we were growing up, but also because I have a true appreciation for what took place on the very first Christmas many years ago.
It would take me an hour or two to list all of the reasons that I love Christmas, so I thought I'd keep it simple and make a short list of some of my favorite Christmas things...
Movie - White Christmas
(The Santa Clause, A Christmas Story, Die Hard and Elf get a nod as well)
Sweet - This one deserves a list...my mom's peanut butter balls, candy canes, Janet's hershey kisses cookies (hint, hint), Bergey's Dairy's Colonial Custard
Song - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
Tradition - Opening one gift on Christmas Eve
Gift Received - my Canon camera last year from Tricia
Gift Given - Ralphie the cat to Tricia our first married Christmas (Ralphie should be back with us when we move into our new house after living more than year with grandma!)
Meal - The Christmas breakfast my mom makes every year...an egg and sausage quiche type thing (I'll never understand why it only comes once a year)
What about you?
Nate
Yeah, why do things like breakfast casseroles only come once a year? Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.
ReplyDeleteNate, Tricia, and Gwyneth,
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
My kids whined so long and hard about the breakfast casserole, that I DID start making it at other times throughout the year. Moms: cook your sausage ahead a day or two and store it in a zip-loc bag in the fridge . Then the Christmas-eve prep is super-fast! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteJesus is the reason for the Season. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteOh I love peanut butter balls but since my son has an allergy we don't make them anymore :( Our food tradition is southern country ham and biscuits on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas! Enjoy Gwyneth's 1st Christmas and take lots of pictures. (as if you need to be told that :))
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet traditions and how far your family has come in just a short year! Merry Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteWe let are kids [all 6 of them] open their stockins Christmas Eve. We drink hot cocoa and read the story of Christmas and then off to bed. Christmas day is typical except we go out to eat for dinner. Mom deserves a break to! Merry Chsistmas, I hope you guys are blessed!
ReplyDeleteMovie - A Charlie Brown Christmas (especially the Linus part)
ReplyDeleteSweet - Homemade pralines
Song - Joseph's Song, In Bethlehem Tonight
Tradition - Our Christmas elf, Cheewee (from childhood, getting an ornament each year to add to my collection)
Gift Received - The rabbit coat from my brother and his wife when they had a new baby and not much money
Gift Given - a new set of golf clubs for my husband that he didn't expect
Meal - Prime rib with twice baked potatoes and caesar salad
MERRY CHRISTMAS, and happy FIRST Christmas for Gwyneth .. may 2009 overflow with blessings!
Merry Christmas!!! Enjoy it they go by to fast as our children grow.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas song is
ReplyDeleteO Holy Night.
Monkey Bread for Christmas breakfast
Merry Christmas to your beautiful family. What a year of miracles it's been for the three of you! May many blessings continue to come your way.
ReplyDeleteMovie - White Christmas (love the music)
ReplyDeleteSweet - Sweetened Condensed Milk Fudge
Song - "Mary Did You Know" and "Do You Know Him Better" by This Hope
Tradition - Each child opening their gift while everyone else watches (We have 8 children).
Gift Received - Salvation from Christ
Gift Given - Giving what a child really wants and watching their face when opening it.
Meal - For Breakfast we always have red pancakes, Green Key Lime Shake and Cream Puffs
Movie - It's a Wonderful Life every Christmas eve and Elf, Fred Clause, and Grinch
ReplyDeleteSweet - my absolute fav is nut rolls which I grew up on but haven't had in years and would give my right arm for! Also buckeyes (peanut butter balls) and anything else!!
Song - O Holy Night-LOVE IT
Tradition - It's a wonderful Life on Christmas Eve
Gift Received - my husband surprising me Christmas morning when he was supposed to be overseas
Gift Given - my husband's mustang
Meal - ham, cheesy taters and anything else that appears!
Song: Oh Holy Night
ReplyDeleteGift given: memory book of Jack's life to my mom
Gift recieved: holding Jack for the first time on Christmas day 3years ago
Movie: Christmas Vacation
Food: prime rib dinner at my parents house
Goodies: homemade sugar press cookies
tradition: leaving treats for santa to eat when he comes (tonight, this is Jack's first year "getting" it. So he left him 3 cookies, a frozen chicken nugget and water in his Thomas the train sippy cup and when we went to bed he told me not to forget to leave Santa's some yogurt!)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Movie: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
ReplyDeleteSweet: Oatmeal Gumdrop Cookies
Song: Do You Hear What I Hear
Tradition: Christmas Eve Mass
Gift Received: Baby Doll and homemade baby clothes (by Mom who said they were made by Mrs. Claus!)
Gift Given: Cabbage Patch dolls many years ago for my girls!
Meal: Christmas Eve chili (yes chili!)
Many blessings to the Lawrensons in 2009 and Happy upcoming 1st birthday to Gwyneth. Such a miracle and it's so much fun to see her personality shine through in the videos.
Merry Christmas!!! My favorite things are "It's a Wonderful Life" and the Santa Clause trilogy for movie. My Dell was the best gift I ever got and gave since I gave my husband one the year before. I love all cookies. In general, I love it all especially thru the eyes of my 2 little guys. They are so into it all that you just have to love it. I hope that you have a beautiful blessed Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE White Christmas! It has always been my family's tradition to watch that every year. But, my husband makes fun of me saying it is just a rip off of Holiday Inn (which I still haven't seen). I am so glad there is someone out there that loves White Christmas too :-). Merry Christmas to the three of you!
ReplyDeleteour favorites, we go to dad's house every christmas eve, we have tamales, rice, beans, enchiladas, salads, cookies, coconut cream pie(polly's)cheesecake,then we all line up for a chiropractic adjustment from Dr. neff. the girls pick out the movies, i love to hear "oh holy night", amy and i are up early on christmas morning and out to breakfast before anybody else wakes up.
ReplyDeleteour favorites, we go to dad's house every christmas eve, we have tamales, rice, beans, enchiladas, salads, cookies, coconut cream pie(polly's)cheesecake,then we all line up for a chiropractic adjustment from Dr. neff. the girls pick out the movies, i love to hear "oh holy night", amy and i are up early on christmas morning and out to breakfast before anybody else wakes up.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Die Hard is definitely one of those Top 10 Christmas movies. :) Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas! You are all so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThe meal and tradition you listed are the same in my family. I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!
ReplyDeleteMovie: A Christmas Story
ReplyDeleteSweet: Hmm. This is hard. I'm going to say PB blossoms (PB cookies with a hershey kiss stuck in the top)
Song: In the Bleak Midwinter
Tradition: Midnight service by candlelight
Gift Received: A number of years back (I think I was 27 or 28 at the time), my best friend gave me a cuisinart food processor; I had been wanting one since I was 8. I cried over that one.
Gift Given: To my best friend, a copy of her favorite painting that I had framed and then hid from her in a very covert operation!
Meal: prime rib and yorkshire pudding. We always have a very English Christmas dinner:)
merry christmas, nate, trisha, and gwyneth!
I completely agree with I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day! I absolutely LOVE the story behind it!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite movie is A Christmas Story (love the 24hr marathon that runs on TBS - watching it now) but I do love White Christmas - it's a close 2nd.
ReplyDeleteBreakfast - trying something new this year...Hashbrown casserole & sausage balls. We'll see how it turns out. Now that I am married with kids I want my own breakfast tradition.
Merry Christmas!! Enjoy your time with family.
Merry Blessed Christmas to all three of you and THANK YOU for blessing us with you all!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas thing is watching my son's eyes on Christmas morning especially when he was littlier and seeing the wonder in them at the sigh of the tree and what all Santa had accomplished. And yes he's been raised also to know the "true" meaning of Christmas!
Die Hard is my favorite Christmas movie, too :) Happy Christmas to Tricia and her new lungs, Gwyneth, and YOU!
ReplyDeleteOohh, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is my favorite song too! I love the traditional version best, however, I will freely admit to singing along with the Casting Crowns version very loudly many many times over the past month.
ReplyDeleteHint taken. See ya in two days.
ReplyDeleteA few of my favorites:
ReplyDeleteIts a Wonderful Life,
Sausage Balls for Christmas breakfast, stockings on Christmas day, celebrating Christmas with my husband..I love being married.
Merry Christmas to you!!
And Great news on the CF Testing in NC..that's awesome!
Have you heard Casting Crowns new Christmas CD. Its now my all time favorite! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDelete-Ashley
Is the name Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Do you go around warning him that he is going to put his eye out?
ReplyDeleteHere's a good one that we do and you might want to do it too:) Ever year (that we have been married) I take a glass ornimate ball and we write the year on it and something to help us remember that year! Its so fun to see them add up as the year goes no and SOMEDAY that will be all that is on my tree (at least thats my goal). I also write a letter to my husband and kids and leave it in the box of decorations.
ReplyDeleteSo happy that you get to enjoy the holiday together.
Blessings,
Melissa
hooray! we share the same favorite christmas movie :)
ReplyDeletei love christmas traditions. we have been blessed not to have to travel 650 miles each year b/c of being in retail, and my side isn't as christmasy as my husbands. so for the last 25 years, we do the same thing. . . a big deal for our kids who are 17 & 18. they would be devestated if we veered from our well-worn path!
ReplyDeletefor me. . .
movie: elf i feel like abc family's 25 days of christmas should be changed to 25 days of elf.
sweet: my mom's pecan balls
song: oh holy night (my mom used to sing that "acapulco" and it would give me chills)
tradition: bonia cauda (more later)on christmas eve after church
gift rec'd: nikon 640 last year
gift given: time to my family
meal: bonia cauda, a tradition begun by my husband's grandmother. always on christmas eve. butter, cream, garlic and anchovies. make this creamy sauce, serve it bubbling hot on the table in an electric skillet, and dip raw veggies. sounds absolutely disgusting, but it is wonderful. half the fun is in making it. and it's served with bread, but you're not allowed to dip it until meeka says it's okay. it's tradition for uncle randy to "accidently" drop his in right away. every year. good memories!!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. It all passes too fast. Our traditions are:
ReplyDelete1. The breakfast casserole dish
2. One gift on Christmas Eve
3. Used to be going to midnight service, but not now with the kids
4. Eggnog
5. Christmas light tour