A Merry Little Christmas

What a difference a baby makes! Normally I'm in total Martha mode striving for some holiday magic that is way unrealistic, but this year, it was all about Tucker! Of course I realize he's too young to really get a grasp about what we were doing or what Christmas is all about, but it was nice to start working on some of our family traditions.

Each weekend in December, I baked a new batch of cookies - always a recipe I've never tried. We had to make sure Santa was getting the best cookies possible! I also made my famous peanut butter balls - always a favorite of family, friends and coworkers!

My side of the family stayed with the tradition of exchanging gifts with everyone. On Alec's side, we drew names at Thanksgiving and only had to buy for 1 person. We each filled out a Secret Santa questionnaire and no one could tell who they got until all of the gifts were open on Christmas. I totally lucked out - Alec drew my name!

I was kinda bummed though because we agreed not to exchange gifts with each other this year but he got to get something for me anyway. Our gift to ourselves was our new dining table and chairs. But since he drew my name, Alec got me a pink and purple toolbox (looks very similar to a Caboodle!), a gardening tote, a jewelry box (fingers crossed...no more lost diamond earrings!) and new bird salt and pepper shakers (I had these before, but salt was dropped behind the stove and broke). Though not an actual Christmas gift, he also got me a new Frankoma 1975 Democratic donkey mug. I had found one of these at an antique store during our first Bixby Green Corn Festival. A couple of weeks ago, I was holding Tucker in the kitchen...he grabbed the mug...he dropped the mug...no more donkey mug. So I was very excited and very overcome with emotion when just 2 days later, our friendly post lady delivered a "new" donkey mug to me!

I continued the tradition of adding 1 new ornament to our tree - something to symbolize an important event in our lives for the year. I found a Hallmark Keepsake ornament called Sweet Pea that was just perfect for Tucker's first Christmas! But alas, the Hallmark I went to only had black babies. They called the store across town and the one white baby they had was put on hold for me! WooHoo!

On Christmas Eve, Tucker and I wrote his letter to Santa and put it in his stocking. He only asked for 3 things - a rocking horse, a teddy bear and some blocks.

We set out peanut butter kiss cookies, gingerbread men, Cheerios and milk for Santa.


Before Tucker went to sleep that night, Alec read The Night Before Christmas to us. We started this tradition last year when Tucker was still in my belly.

Then on Christmas morning, before we brought Tucker downstairs to see if Santa had come, Alec read the real Christmas story from the Bible. Hopefully we'll continue this tradition so we can always remember the true meaning of Christmas!

And then it was time to see if Santa had made it to our house despite the crazy weather! And lo and behold he did! Our stockings overflowed with candy, toothbrushes and underwear! Even the furkids got treats and toys! We must have all been on Santa's nice list this year!





Despite missing one of our three gatherings on Christmas Eve due to the weather, it was a perfect Christmas! I hope we continue with the traditions we've begun and add even more family traditions in the years to come.