Christmas Plans

♫Christmastime is here. Happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year.♫

It always strikes me funny how melancholy the tune sounds even with lyrics like that.

Anyway.

The Christmas season is fun and busy and awesome...and usually each one is different. After all, "Things never happen the same way twice." But that's what makes it exciting.

One thing we always do, though, is decorate. Our Christmas tree is ridiculously crowded with ornaments. So many relatives have given us ornaments, and then we tend to buy more whenever we go to Disney World. The tree may be a bit cluttered, but that's what makes it our tree. We have several little churches, a Nutcracker, some snowmen, several music boxes, and a Nativity set. One year we made a stable out of sticks from the backyard, but, while it was really cool, it was insanely difficult to make. Now I fashion the stable out of Lincoln Logs. And we have two advent calendars. One has an appliqued Christmas tree and little embroidered ornaments hanging on it which we put in pouches for each day of advent. The other is a wooden box with a Nativity on the front...and it has a door for each day, behind which is a piece of candy. We also put lights on the front of our house.

Throughout the Christmas season, we watch lots of Christmas movies and specials. We always watch Charlie Brown, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and usually Frosty the Snowman, and we sometimes end up watching random other ones that come on TV. As far as movies go, we always watch Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story. We also fit in Scrooge because my mom and I like that adaptation best, Disney's A Christmas Carol because most of the family likes that version better, The Santa Clause because it's the only Santa Claus movie I've seen that actually attempts to make it all make sense, The Polar Express, Elf because apparently everyone but me enjoys it, and probably something else I'm forgetting. When we're staying home for Christmas, we watch It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and make homemade doughnuts.

We give each other presents on Christmas morning...well, half the time. Sometimes we visit relatives in Indiana for Christmas, so those years we have our own Christmas a few days early. It's somehow just not the same as doing it on actual Christmas morning, but oh well. Somebody, well, most of us get books every year because we love them so much, and if you're the same way, I've still got some sales going on. ;)

What fills in the rest of the time, well, that's where things get different. For several years, it was stress and busyness due to Nativity Ballet rehearsals (and the Christmas season has never felt the same to me since, even though it's been nine years since my last Nativity). Many times, it's been a trip to Disney. This year, we have a number of things going on.

Some of them have to do with the library. Like the Christmas parade my sisters and I were in last Friday. It was fun except for having a cold. And I'll be helping out with my library's Santa and Polar Express programs too. 

My sisters and I went to a Christmas dance last weekend, which was fun in spite of being sick. I got to dance a lot more than I'd expected, and really enjoyed the evening. We also have a church Christmas party to look forward to.

Not sure if we really have any other big plans--my family is 100% introverted, so we tend to be more of the quiet evening at home sort--but it'll be a good Christmas.

What Christmas traditions does your family have? Anything special you're looking forward to this Christmas?

And before I forget, please take a few moments to fill out my blog content survey. I'm trying to adjust my blog to my readers' needs...partially because I'm constantly drawing blanks on blog post topics. ;)