I am so pleased to bring you day 20 of the Creative Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing one of my family's favorite traditions.
Our family has a lot of traditions for the holiday season and it seems like we add another with each new year. But one that we look forward to the most is also one of the easiest. We spend one night sleeping under the beautiful, twinkling tree.
We start the night off by reading our favorite Christmas stories. This could simply take the place of our usual bedtime story, but usually it's a marathon of all the classics. We curl up around the tree and read together as a family. My little boy could read and look at books for hours and he delights in having us all together, but eventually it's time for bed. You won't hear him asking for five more minutes on this night though!
We lay out lots of blankets, pillows, and stuffed companions. We turn off all the other lights and lay under the decorated branches. We play "I Spy" and talk about our favorite ornaments. We gaze at the lights. We sing Christmas songs. It's a magical and special night for all of us. Eventually, we all sleep, but I stay awake long enough to see one of my favorite sights.....
This is easily adaptable to fit your family. You can make a big production out of it, or keep it simple. And I can only imagine the sweetness of siblings whispering under the tree! I hope that you can experience the magic by adding this to your list of traditions. It's an easy way to make the night a special memory for you all. And don't forget to take pictures! They are a lovely way of seeing your child's growth from year to year and beautiful keepsakes of the cherished memories.
Oh my you are adorable. What a lovely lovely thing to let your kids do... I wonder if mine would sleep you sleep be too excited!!!!
ReplyDeleteWill have to discuss it in our house! :-)
Maggy
That sounds so lovely. What a great tradition!
ReplyDeleteThats one of our favorite things to do!! (althought they lay there while I read books then its off to bed..) hope you guys are feeling better!!
ReplyDeleteA little cute kid, sleeping under the tree :) Very nice photo...
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute, I love this idea! Maybe tonight....
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful...love it! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I have been thinking about you guys.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and magical mom you are. I love it very much!!!
ReplyDeleteAngelique
What a wonderful way to celebrate! We have a kids tree that would be prefect for this. Looks like we might have to get down the sleeping bags;)
ReplyDeleteOh how sweet... and what a wonderful, simple Christmas tradition! Thanks for sharing Joyce!
ReplyDeleteSo Cute! What a great idea! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun tradition, my girls would love to do this. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh! I've never thought to do this - what a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteWe LOVE to sleep next to the tree and will have so many people sleeping at our house on Christmas Eve that we'll have no choice, but it's one of my favorite Christmassy things to do.
ReplyDeleteAhhh. What a lovely idea xxx
ReplyDelete'It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!'
Lovely. When my daughters were 5 and 3, they started sleeping under the tree on Christmas Eve to see if they could see Santa. Santa tiptoed around them every time- Phew : ) This tradition continued for many years, my girls were in their teens, and their brother 9 before they finally slept in their own beds. Now in their 20's they think about reviving that tradition : ) Thanks for helping families to see the simplicity of traditions that matter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tradition!
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting thing to do for kiddies. BTW, Your blog is looking lovely.
ReplyDeleteLast night before bedtime we sat in the living room with all the lights off except the Christmas tree and the advent calendars and discussed all the ornaments. It was beautiful and we only did it thanks to you. Ask The Englishman of what he thought of camping out and he thought it was a great idea... maybe tonight..... ;-) I want to do it "with him" but he has a few work things on in the evening, hoping we can squeeze it in before Christmas (though guess after Christmas could also be special????) Thanks for a lovely love lovely idea!
ReplyDeleteWe're going to do this this year, and I am so excited! I think it will find it's way into our Christmas traditions every year.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fabulous idea, that we immediately had to do the same thing. Magical: they'll be talking about it until next Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteI can't beleive I'm only just not finding your blog. This is so up my alley :-P
ReplyDeleteAll of your comments mean so much to me. I hope that all of you that tried it, made wonderful memories and loved it as much as my family loves it. Thank you for taking the time to comment and let me know what you think and share your own stories.
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