Now I try to help my kids make small gifts for my grandparents and my parents. Thanks to the internet it's not too hard coming up with ideas, but it's a little bit of a job to try and get them done. We enjoy it though, and it's one of the many times when I ask myself, "How did my mom do this with so many of us??" In past years we've done snowflake sun-catchers, tissue paper candle holders, chocolate covered pretzels, different kinds of felt ornaments, and cinnamon sachets to name a few. This year I worked our gift making tradition into one of our Sunday afternoon activities. Each child received a gift bag and in it was a kit with all the supplies to make a gift for their great-grandmother.
Madeleine etched an original design onto a glass cup and added sparkles to make a candle holder. Beth pieced together a hot pad made from Christmas fabric. Mary stitched a heart shaped ornament with yarn on plastic canvas, and Gabe glued red, white, and green pompoms to a paper candy cane. I was so intent on finishing and wrapping the gifts I forgot to take a picture of the completed items, but they turned out cute. Madeleine was especially gracious when, after she spent hours working on a custom design for her candle holder, I dropped it in the driveway while I was carrying the gifts into the house and it shattered before anyone opened it. I felt so bad but she forgave me and said she didn't want everyone to see it anyway:)
Some time in the 80's the Dollar Store came to be and a new tradition was born for us kids. My mom took us there to do our Christmas shopping for each other and we would all run around with our coats covering our baskets and trying to avoid each other in the aisles. You may not think it, but some of the most appropriate gifts only cost 100 pennies. For example, one year my brother gave me a bottle of hairspray - if you were around in the 80's you know why I appreciated that. Another brother gave me a paperback cookbook that I still have and in it is the recipe for one of my husband's favorite desserts. When I was in college my brother gave me a pizza pan and I still cook pizza on one just like it. Then there was the pair of zebra striped leggings that didn't quite fit me but somehow managed to make an appearance in a high school skit...and I wasn't the one wearing them.
Now I take my kids to the Dollar store every December and they scurry around with coat-covered baskets, whispering to each other and then avoiding each other while they pick out presents for everybody. One year they gave me a photo album, "because you take so many pictures," and a notebook because, "you're always saying, 'I need to write that down'." Last year I got a calendar of lighthouse photos to remind me of my favorite places on the east coast. This year I got a collection of angel figurines and the one from Beth is playing the violin since she started violin lessons this year. The kids pass out their dollar store and homemade gifts for us all on Christmas Eve. It's my favorite part of Christmas.
Every year December gets busier and busier and sometimes some of our traditions get put aside for next year, and sometimes new traditions evolve as our family grows and changes. There are some I won't let go of though because they mean something to me beyond finding a fun way to celebrate.
When speaking of family traditions Elder Donald L. Hallstrom said:
"Traditions, established patterns of behavior transmitted from generation to generation, are an inherent part of culture. Our culture and its related traditions help establish our sense of identity and fill the vital human need to belong.
Of traditions which are complementary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul admonished the Thessalonians, “Therefore, … stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught” (2 Thes. 2:15). ... traditions remind us of the strength and sacrifice of our ancestors and inspire our efforts."
( Cultivate Righteous Traditions, General Conference, Oct. 2000)I feel very blessed to have fond memories of positive family traditions and I'm grateful for the continuity and unity that they brought into our family growing up. It's truly a pleasure to pass them on to my own children and to create memories with traditions of our own. I think the opportunity to do so during Christmas is one of the many gifts this season brings. What are your favorite traditions? I'd love to hear.
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