On holiday traditions (or the lack thereof)

The other day I started this pity-party blog post about how we don't have any traditions of our own because we always travel for holidays. I was feeling sorry for myself and the post was oh so whiny. Fortunately, after reading two great posts about Christmas traditions, my eyes re-focused and my perspective changed a bit. So here's an edited version of my original post, without all the drama. ;)

Joel and I have been married for four years and this Christmas will be our first with a child. I wrote about the tradition we're starting with gifts; this tradition is one I'm SUPER excited about and plan to maintain forever. Besides the gift giving, and the fact that whenever we buy a Christmas tree it's from the VFW where we had our wedding reception, our tiny family doesn't have any traditions that are just ours. 

BUT! We have the privilege of spending time with our families during the winter holidays and the best part of that is getting to share in their traditions, or to create new ones alongside them. It is awesome to combine Thanksgiving and Christmas with my parents and brother! I love getting most of my shopping done by mid-November and I also love playing elf on my dad's behalf, buying things for my mom with dad's money :) I LOVE that my mom used to give us new PJs on Christmas Eve and that she's continuing that tradition in a new way by giving Charlotte new cozy jammies for an early Christmas gift. I also really love that Joel's family has a big get-together which includes dinner and an auction where all the proceeds are donated to a specific charity. 

Really, being with our families is tradition in itself and I think it's time to own that and treasure it and mull it over with much gratitude.