One Week Until Christmas...

...and I've been thinking a lot about traditions. So I've taken my trusty camera and tried to give you a snapshot of some of those traditions that seem to stand the test of time. This year marks the 10th anniversary of our friend Dot getting together with us to build gingerbread houses. We've tried 'em all...from cut outs to molds (which is what i used this year) to prefab from Michaels...to the one Dot found this year that was even already glued together! No matter what disasters we've encountered...we've always ended the afternoon with completed houses (sometimes held up by cans from the inside) and good memories of sharing time with Dot.

Of course, there is the North Pole village that we erect every year. We started our collection 10 years ago after moving into our house, fulfilling a dream Kirk had of having a Christmas village. In my day, I've carved styrofoam, come up with wiring schematics that let an entire village turn on with the flick of just one button, and combed the craft stores for all sorts of decorative materials. This year, we tried something new. Each of us chose one spot of the house to set up our village made up of houses we personally loved. Katy chose houses from Elf Land (a sub-set of the NP...can you imagine...), Kirk chose his favorite houses (mostly colorful one) and I put up my all time favorite, Route One North Pole...home to Mr. And Mrs Clause. Can you tell that I needed a break? LOL!

Another 10 year old tradition is the making of gift bags. The year Katy was born, we started making bags that contained a home made cookie mix in a jar, chocolate covered and decorated pretzel rods, a handmade ornament by Katy, and a little handmade gift from me. I was hoping to teach Katy how much fun and meaningful it can be to make gifts. We've continued the tradition all these years...the ornaments went from tempra painted wood stars (when she was 10 months old) to more complicated beaded icicles. I've now got friends who count on those cookie mixes to help in their holiday baking!

For many years, we've marked the 24 days before Christmas with a Playmobile Advent Calendar. They are so cute and detailed (my favorite was one of Santa's bakery, where you put together the kitchen and angels baking sheets of cookies...) and every year, we take all the pieces and put them in a special basket that Katy can play with the following year. She has set up some elaborate scenes for Santa in years past. We were saddened last year when we couldn't find one that had a Christmas theme (they released a pirate one for boys and a doll house for girls...no Christmas at all) but gladdened when we found our current calendar at a local Learning Express...with a Christmas in the Woods theme. What is it about these little plastic items that make them so irresistible?

When we moved our family Xmas tree upstairs to showcase in the large window over our new garage, I missed having a tree downstairs as I spend so little time upstairs. Fortunately, I found this skinny little rustic tree that year which is perfect in the kitchen. I decorated it with all stars and moon ornaments that I have collected through the years and the white lights keep me in peaceful company those dark, 5:30am mornings and shine out brightly as it gets dark now before 5p.

So it is a week until the big day...and we are in good shape. With nothing on our calendar, we designated Sunday as 'baking day' which is probably a good thing given the weather we are suppose to be having over the next 72 hours here in New England. So I went out shopping for everything we need for a cozy weekend together, punctuated by a few visits from friends. It seems so important to spend some time together enjoying all the preparations and decorations and traditions and I think we will be able to do just that during the days before Christmas.