The word "family" kind of annoys me. Mainly because most people do not consider a couple as a "family". I have always felt that hubby and I, along with our furbabies, have been a family since the moment we said "I Do". Just because the general fertile public does not consider us as such does not change how I feel about it. Just as a single parent with a child(ren) or a grandparent raising their grandchild(ren) is a family. Maybe that is the difference, having children. But should it be? Are children the only way to have a "family'? I think not!
When hubby and I became a family in 1998 we began holiday traditions. There are some traditions that included our someday children and I look forward to doing them in the years to come, but many of them are ones that we did even back then. Some years it was hard to do them as we had dreams of having babies by that time, but we made ourselves do them and celebrate together. We felt it important not to center our lives completely around "what if's" and maybe someday babies. Here are our traditions:
*Put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving
*Make a gingerbread house with our nieces on Thanksgiving day.
*Get a Starbucks and drive around looking at Christmas light.
* Invite my grandmother over on Christmas Eve. I make a ton of appetizers and we exchange gifts.
*Hubby and I stay up until Midnight and then we open our gifts.
Do you have family traditions that you do as a family of two? If not, will you begin one or two this year? Please share your traditions!!!
On Christmas eve I wrap all the Christmas gifts. My husband used to occupy himself with keeping the champagne glasses full, but we don't do that part any more. :-( But I LOVE wrapping gifts!
ReplyDeleteWe have always felt that we were already a family as well.
ReplyDeleteI decorate the house and tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. My husband cooks us a nice italian dinner that we enjoy with red wine, in front of our beautiful tree.
As you probably know, I love all things vintage and that includes the blown glass vintage looking ornaments. We started a tradition last year where we each get each other one of those retro ornaments. I can't wait to get my ornament this year!
I was just thinking about Christmas traditions too! Especially with it being Abby's first Christmas. :)
ReplyDeleteOne of the traditions I remember from when I was young was waking up Christmas morning -- my mom, brother, and I always beat my dad up. We would put on a Mannheim Steamroller or Nutcracker cd and crank it up really loud to wake him up. Then we would have hot cocoa, stirred with a candy cane, while we opened presents in our pj's.
It's funny we have some of the same traditions: we love to get our starbucks, listen to Christmas music and look at the Christmas lights; I try to put up the Christmas decorations and tree the day after Thanksgiving or at least that weekend; I take my niece and nephew to a local Christmas production- they spend the night before and we do some type of Christmas activity- make cookies or paint ornaments etc...
ReplyDeleteSome other things we like to do is to have muffins on Christmas morning, put a candle in one and sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus; making and decorating Christmas cookies; and getting at least one new Christmas ornament a year.
Our little "family" will finally be a little bigger next year and I can't wait to see what new traditions we add.
ReplyDeleteSome of our traditions are...
The hubby and I are huge movie buffs so we have many christmas movies and we start watching them, one or two each week all the way up until christmas. The finale is the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve, our Favorite. We also go each year to the Stone Mountain Christmas Village in Atlanta and my husband was thrilled when he realized next year we would have our new addition in tow.