Our Christmas Eve traditions have slowly grown as the kids have grown up.
When my son was born, my dad bought a Christmas train set for him, so we could carry on a tradition I grew up with…a train under the Christmas tree.
Our cat, Slipper, likes that idea, too!
New to us this year is the purchase of an amaryllis bulb near the sink, which we’ve watched quickly grown into a blossoming flower. Will it fully bloom by Christmas morning?
While the cat inspected the train, the resident elf played chess…
With the stockings hung and the fireplace lit, on this very cold Christmas Eve in Texas, we began our nightly reading that we started the first Sunday after Thanksgiving.
After we gather for advent at night fall, my daughter reads the selection for Christmas Eve, from Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration published by James Dobson’s Focus on the Family.
This excellent book includes a reading from a major Christian preacher each week, carols, and Scripture, with great discussion questions and activities.
Leaving our advent candles on the coffee table lit, we take a family picture, then select finger foods, savory and sweet, to enjoy during our favorite movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
After the movie the kids each select a present to open from under the tree, then sneak away to bed with visions of sugar plums in their heads.
Meanwhile the fragrance from the vanilla and cinnamon scented candles waft through the house…while I sit and ponder with a warm cup of cinnamon tea of the Reason for the Season on this holiest of nights when God became man to provide eternal life for us. John 3:16
For all the fun and activity of the Christmas season, this might be my favorite with the lit candles on a Silent Night.
