So is everyone ready for Christmas? I’m not! For some reason I just can’t seem to get into it the season yet, but just the other night when my family piled into the car in their pajamas and grabbed their hot chocolate, I got a little jolt in the right direction.

As we drove around looking at Christmas lights, with the windows wide open and the hot drinks to keep us warm, I couldn’t help but get a tear in my eye as I realized that this had become one of our traditions. You see, this is the first year that we actually have a daddy and husband around for the Christmas season. The very nature of our business has meant that the busy season is when churches put on their stage productions–Christmas and Easter. We’ve had to do some wrestling with what is a “tradition” and being okay with not always celebrating on the same day as everyone else. This year our own business has become our secondary income and now my husband works full time at our church. So we have him around this time. Yeah!

A lot of our traditions have been well thought out, but some have just fallen into place simply because of our lifestyle. As I drove around in the car looking at those Christmas lights the other night, I began to realize that some of the traditions that have stuck the most, are the ones that weren’t intentional. The spontaneous jump into the car with jammies and hot chocolate is one of those. In the past, my husband wouldn’t know what end was up during the holiday season so when he had a spare few hours, the above tradition is what we’d do. Driving around and looking at Christmas lights (but without the hot chocolate and pajamas) was also what would save my life (and my children’s lives) many times over the years. When I had four children under four and it was “the season” with no husband around, looking at lights was sometimes the only thing that got us through until bedtime. We still enjoy hopping in the car and going on a “light hunt.”

Due to my husband’s schedule we learned over the years that if the Christmas stuff was gonna get up and the lights put on the house, then we’d have to do it on Thanksgiving. I still clearly remember the year that we figured out this gem-of-an-idea and there stood my husband in need of one more set of lights or something like that. He drove all over town trying to find a store, any store, that was open on Thanksgiving so he could finish putting up the lights. I’m pretty sure that if 7-11 had sold Christmas lights, he would’ve bought them there since they never close! So what if we were the first ones in the neighborhood to have our Christmas lights on and decorations out. It’s better than not at all and we sure have gotten maximum enjoyment out of them! Thus began the tradition that still continues today.

Another one would be buying the Christmas tree during the last few days before Christmas. Of course by the time we got the opportunity to buy a tree, everyone else in America was proudly displaying theirs. However, I have learned the great benefit to waiting. My tree is usually still alive on Christmas, thereby reducing a fire hazard. I also don’t have to get down on my hands and knees to water it as long as everyone else! That just might be worth it right there! Reason #2 is that we also get a great price. I am usually able to get the Noble Fir that I really want and not the $20 one at the grocery store. Now that I have the choice, I’ll probably continue our “accidental tradition”.

So what about you? What “accidental traditions” do you have? What are you doing today to create memories worth repeating for your children?

In case you can relate...

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