Christmas Traditions at the Keils!

So my friend Miriam suggested jotting down our Christmas traditions so here we go...
(The kids were not amused about the picture in front of the tree. I think the hat pushed Katy over the edge.
Traditions...

1. Every year the kids get a new ornament for the tree. We write their name and the year on it. Then when they move out they will have some of their own ornaments. My tree will be bare, but that' okay. It's been fun to see how their interestes have changed and the different ornaments they pick the older they get. Katy picked out two of the same Winnie the Pooh two years in a row. I guess she really liked him.

2. The kids always open one present on Christmas Eve. Usually it's either PJ's or a game that we can play that evening.

3. We always have a big breakfast Christmas morning, which usually consists of quiche, cinnamon rolls, and crab dip. My Mom always did this growing up and I loved that tradition so we've continued it in our family.

4. We always stay home on Christmas morning. We let the kids play with their new toys and spend time together. This is a tradition Mike insisted on. He didn't want the kids to be ripped away from their toys to go visit family so we do that later in the day around dinner time.

5. On Christmas Eve we have lots of snacks and play games. There's always Christmas music playing and after we do games Mike reads the Christmas story out of the Bible and he also reads "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". When the kids were little he started reading the Grinch in this silly voice and they loved it so now they insist he still reads it that way.

6. The last few years this has become a tradition...Katy puts up and arranges the nativity scene abd Eric puts up the Christmas Village. I think they look forward to their specific decorating job.

7. Every year I buy each kid a special book that has a special message that can relate to their life. This has become so fun for me and I hope it is special to them. I spend lots of time at Deseret Book looking for just the right book and then I always write a special message inside the book for them and date it. Hopefully someday they will enjoy reading those books to their own children.

Well that's about it for us. I think this year I am going to copy Miriam and start wrapping the stocking gifts too. I liked that idea, because we all know kids love to unwrap things. Thanks for the idea. Anyone else reading this let's here your family traditions. It's fun to see what other families are doing.