Christmas Traditions- New and Old

My favorite time of the year is the Holiday Season. I love the spirit, warmth and comfort of this time of the year. Technically, E`s first Christmas was last year. but he was two months old and mostly unaware of the tree, decorations, lights and snow. This year would be his first Christmas that actually counts. My goal is to pass on to E, the love that I have for this fantastic season.


So to ring him, we finally put up the tree.  He loves the tree and points at it every morning to show us all of the ornaments and decorations. We put up a few other decorations as well  around the house and with E's help, we have created our festive retreat. Christmas music is our first choice, at least for the next few weeks or so and we are busy baking and gift-making (I'll reveal the gifts next week). We do not exchange presents but the spirit is still there. I am also hosting a Holiday Tea Party this Saturday so stay tuned for the details on treats, decor and table settings. Its such a busy but wonderful time.
As a family, we were out two nights last week to take in the Christmas spirit. We hit the Zoolights on an especially cold night (not good!) so we spent most of the evening inside and the next night, we went to Children's Christmas pageant which was oh-so-cute. Definitely got a good dose of Christmas spirit! For me, this season is all about the christmas spirit. Its the feeling of warmth and kindness in others that I love. E is meeting Santa for the first time on Dec 16 so that should be an extra special moment for us as parents.

Now for new traditions:
Last year on Christmas Day, we were skating at the Lake. It was warm (Yay! chinooks) and we just had such a great time.

We hope we can do this every year and make it a true holiday tradition for the family.  Christmas Dinner is always at my parent's house so most of our time is usually spent with family. I'm sure that all parents say this but I really cannot imagine life before he was born. This season is so special with him around because we can show him the spirit that we have during the holidays. We are hoping to start some new traditions for Eid as well next year.  Parenthood has been an all consuming, sometimes inconvenient but an extremely rewarding experience for me. Baking, decorating and the spirit is all the more special with E around.