our christmas traditions

When thinking about how we wanted to celebrate our Christmas, and what sort of traditions we wanted to start as a family, we came to the conclusion, less is more. Just like birthdays, we wanted things to be simple and special. So, with that in mind we made the decision to get one larger gift for Anna, and try to incorporate a charity aspect as another.

We will also be travelling to five weddings over the next year (so exciting!) so, we are in some respects also on a bit of budget, and it made sense to start our simple tradition early. So....I tasked myself with looking for (I'm going to call them) thrifty Christmas ideas - I found a tonne of fun things to either make or build for her - she is too young for these, but in years to come these will be fun things for her to enjoy. It's really amazing what you can find out there when you start planning/thinking about these things early.

Yesterday we put our above plan in action, and it was nice, very nice. Stew made a yummy roast chicken, I did a coleslaw and some veggies, and we bookended our Christmas meal with our present opening. A few gifts, with very special meaning to all of us. Here they are for you to see:

Anna finger (and foot painted) her first real piece of 'art' - I found a canvas on sale at Michaels - she picked these colours (she grabbed the first two offered so to speak) - this was for Stew, and I think it turned out really nice. He loved it, and has actually taken it to his office for everyone to enjoy.

I received a beautiful pair of earrings - they are copper, something I don't have a lot of, and Stew found them in Inglewood at his favourite store.

Anna was the recipient of a Learning Tower - this is an item we've been talking about and considering for a long time. And, over the past week at home with the pinky eye, I'm so glad we got it. Despite her understanding the stove as - 'hot, danger!', it's still a challenge in the way our kitchen (and our house) is set up. So, thanks to Grandpa, he has picked it up for us and we will be getting it this weekend.

Anna has also sent a shoe box to a child in Haiti. This box contains school supplies, clothes, a toy and a few small treats. For both Stew and I, our families tried to give back as much as possible during the holidays, so we are hoping to continue this tradition for Anna in our own special way.