The absolute best Holiday Tradition?

I would like to share with you a tradition that we started during the Christmas holiday. It has become, what I believe, the best way to start Christmas day on the right note. Every year we say we are going to downsize Christmas yet we always end up cram shopping on the 22^nd through the 24^th getting a bunch of last minute things that end up being filler, most unwanted and unneeded stuff that is quickly discarded days after opening.

It is proven in order to break an old habit you need to replace it with a new one. So last year we finished shopping for our family and instead of doing our last minute cramming we spent time on iTunes picking up a few Holiday Songs to add to our collection. On Christmas Eve (could be another night) we sat around our tree put our playlist on and giving each child a pen and some stationary (we used the fancy kind with blue stripes and three holes on the side) each person in the family wrote a letter to everyone in the family. Our family has six members so this took several hours to complete, but it was a beautiful time. I would suggest having some holiday cookies and milk already set up so anyone that wants to get up and snack can do so without needing a parent. After the letters were written we put them on the tree so a family of 6 ends up with 30 letters. Our boys went to bed that night excited about the next day, but more importantly with a deep appreciation for each other.

As good as the letter writing night was, nothing could have prepared us for the next morning. As we woke at the crack of dawn our family gathered around the tree and put on some more music, a little quieter this time, and we picked our letters from the tree and read them. I enjoyed the letters I got from my family and appreciated the opportunity to tell them how much I loved them, what my favorite things were about them and their strengths. Erin and I however, were both shocked to watch our children wipe away tears and one even sob while reading what their siblings had to say about them. What I thought might take 10 minutes and off to ripping open presents took close to one hour. The spirit that was in our room that morning will not be forgotten and we all are excited to do it again this Christmas.

Take time and do this some time this year, New Years would even work. Don’t sell your kids short they want and need opportunities to let those close to them know how they feel. We still have these letters saved and have read them a couple of times during the year to remind each of them how special they are and how much their family loves them.

Share your favorite traditions!