The Christmas season is finally here! And it one of my favorite times of the year! Adam was asking me a few days ago what I like most about Christmas. There are a few things, but I think the thing I like best is having family traditions. I love looking forward to family activities, meals, gifts, and time spent with family. I think traditions help make Christmas extra special.
I have parents who are expert tradition makers. We always had a 'shepherd's meal' on Christmas Eve, where we would have a meal picnic style on the floor, by candlelight. We listened to this very old tape series called "The Cinnamon Bear" that was all about a bear who helped a little brother and sister find the lost star to top their Christmas tree (it was cheesy, but we all loved it). We dropped off Christmas treats to friends and neighbors and sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to them. We had a specific order for opening presents so that the enjoyment and fun would last as long as possible. These are just a few of the many traditions that I grew up with. I could go on for hours.
When Adam and I got married, I had a hard time figuring out how to cultivate the Christmas Spirit in our home. We both love Christmas time, but each of our families has their own traditions, and figuring out what we wanted to keep, and what we wanted to add has been challenging.
Making the effort to establish certain traditions seems a little overwhelming when you first get married and Christmas is a very different holiday when it is just you and your spouse filling each other's stocking. I feel like the effort is definitely worth it, but it took me a while to figure out how to really infuse our house with the spirit of love and giving that is Christmas without kids or our families around.
A tradition that we started last year is sending out Christmas cards, and I loved the other traditions that have sprung from that.
We take our own family photos each year, to document another year as our family grows and changes. We hand-deliver our Christmas cards to friends in the area, making a special homemade treat to go with the card. We take the time to write notes on our cards to family who will get them in the mail. It is a process filled with love, reflection, and memories. I absolutely love it.
This year, I took the Christmas card delivery one step further and ordered a self-inking rubber stamp, and recipes cards from Tiny Prints, along with our cards, envelopes, envelope inserts, and customized postage. I have already taken a few tasty treats around, and it has been really fun to be able to personalize the tags and write down the recipes that I have created to share with friends.
I take treats to people all year long (thanks to blogging we end up with lots of extra treats), and it will be super nice to have recipe cards and a personalized stamp. I'll use it long after the Christmas season.
We have created a little video highlighting some of our Christmas preparations and some family photo behind the scenes! We are pretty obsessed with how the cards turned out and had a great time taking photos and getting the cards ready to send out!
The recipe for the gorgeous cinnamon roll in the photos below will be up next week!
This post was created in collaboration with TinyPrints, but all opinions, photos and videos are my own! Thanks for supporting the brands that make Measure and Whisk possible!
I love this Landen! Your card is super cute and the video is just darling. THe scene of you clicking the button on your tripod trying to get it to work is a familiar scene. Who took the video?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Meghan! We actually used a go-pro to film our picture taking experience. It was on a stand with a suction cup attached to the stroller tray :) We just pointed it in our general direction and hoped it would get something good!
DeleteYou guys did such a great job! Loved it--
DeleteYour cards are beautiful! Also, so funny that you mention Cinnamon Bear... my husband grew up listening to this series, too :) I think we found it on YouTube a while back.
ReplyDeleteMy family LOVES the Cinnamon Bear! We listened to it for many years, and often fell asleep listening to it during the month of December. I will have to see if I can find it on youtube or something. My parents have a cassette tape copy, but it could be fun to see if I could find one for our family to listen to once Fox is old enough!
DeleteLove this! My family has countless holiday traditions, and I'm excited to see how they blend with my soon-to-be husband's! We're getting married Dec 19 so we won't have much time to figure out our traditions, but I know that at the very least I want to send out holiday cards with wedding photos this year! I love the special touches of treats, notes, and recipes - I'm taking note :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your wedding, Abigail! Winter weddings are so lovely! I love the idea of sending out holiday cards with wedding photos! That will make them so special this year!
DeleteYour family is too adorable! Loved the video. Your cards are so cute!
ReplyDeleteAdorable video. Random question but where did you get your glasses? My two year old recently snapped mine in half and they are taped together Harry Potter style until I choose a new pair.
ReplyDeleteShelly, I know I replied via email to this, but in case anyone else is wondering, I will post it here, too. My glasses are from Firmoo, but sadly they are currently all sold out. Firmoo has a deal where occasionally they give you your first pair of glasses for free (still have to pay shipping), which is how I got them. They also have a super awesome option to 'try on' the glasses by uploading or taking a photo of yourself. I have a small head, so trying on glasses before purchasing is a must for me :)
DeleteWhat a fun video -- and a precious keepsake. I loved seeing baby looking at the lighted tree (for the 1st time, I'm assuming)! I also like those groovy black and white eyeglass frames.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jones! The baby seeing the tree was such a special moment! He got so excited! The glasses are somewhat new, and I love them:) Glad you like them too!
DeleteCuteness overload :)
ReplyDeleteHolidays traditions were never a thing in my family, but I can't wait to make a few ones now that I'm all grown-up ,haha ! Your cards are beautiful, so natural and joyful !