🎅🏻Eck's-mas Traditions🎄

This is my favorite time of year. My kiddos are now 14, 11, 5, and 15 months, and we have created some Xmas or "Eck's-mas" traditions through the years. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Bake with your kids. Every year we make at least 3-4 different types of Christmas cookies, but the cutout frosted sugar cookies are still always their favorite. Let them have a bunch to frost and decorate however they want. Just wait to clean your kitchen until after it's all said and done.....Sprinkles and frosting are everywhere.....but oh how they enjoy it!

2. Christmas cards. I always get a few extra for their scrapbooks. The last few years I even started framing them to use as part of our decorations at Xmas time. I only wish I would have started that years ago.

3. Christmas movies. We have a growing Christmas movie collection. We love being cozy watching them and then putting them away till next Eck's-mas so we can enjoy them again.

4. Give. Every year we find a child in need, who is typically asking for something that we take for granted. I believe it's important to teach kids the importance of giving. It also helps remind them that we have a lot to be thankful for.

5. Christmas Jammie's. This is a big one for me because I like all my photos at Xmas to be festive.....everyone coordinated with the holiday spirit! I love seeing pictures from Christmas past, with the kiddos opening gifts in their Xmas Jammie's.

6. The Elf on the shelf. A HUGE commitment for the family, but that little guy brings so much Christmas Spirit into our house. Each morning from December 1-24th there is excitement to find him.....and sometime he brings special goodies straight from the North Pole. Every year he has brought a new ornament for each child....something they will always have to remember their Christmas as a child. Our elf reminds everyone to be good and to believe.

7. BELIEVE. At the Eck home: if you Believe, you will receive. You will hear this frequently this time of year. When you have a wide range of ages in a household you must believe.

8. Play. We have typically lived around snow. Although I hate being cold, you forget about that when you get out and take your kids outside to go sledding, ice skating, or to build a snowman. I have the best memories taking my sons sledding in MN and MT. We still share funny stories, remembering and laughing about the good times.

9. Decorate. My whole house gets decorated for Xmas. It's a lot of work! 20 storage tubs to be exact!  We always get one big real tree, and two smaller artificial ones. I love my house fully decorated so it's almost magical and full of Christmas spirit for my family.

10. Santa Picture. I had one taken every year since my first son was born. Crying or not, I get the picture and frame it to put up in the house every year at Xmas. They are some of my favorite decorations. So many memories looking at the man in the red suit and seeing my growing family and their love of him and Christmas.

Happy Holidays to you all. A wonderful time of year for love and happiness. Enjoy your traditions year after year. Feel free to leave a comment below and add a special tradition you may have. I'd love to hear them❤️🎄💚🎅🏻🙏🏼.