All Aboard the Polar Express: Fun Christmas Family Traditions

 

 

Family is what defines me, they are the people who I wake up for every day of my life and the ones I think about at night when I close my eyes and thank the Lord for the many blessings that I have.  Now don’t get me wrong, we all have family issues and struggles, no ones family is perfect…..NO ONE!!!  Mine is far from it, but we all try our best to be there for the ones we love most in the world.  Did I have a family like this when I was growing up, absolutely not!  But that’s ok.  Life is often unpredictable and messy and “real”.  But, we all want more for our children than we had for ourselves right?  So we just do the best that we can and try endlessly to give them everything we never had.  For me, it’s moments like these.  An unconditional love between two people who want the world for their girls, who will go to the ends of the earth to show them that anything is possible and if they truly love others, that is what will bring them more fulfillment and joy than any materialistic thing or gift out there.  Life is about the moments and the people in them, not the possession or things we acquire while we are here.  That’s why it is so important to Justin and I to give our girls unforgettable childhood memories, to show them the true meaning of love, grace and stability.

Since I did not have a lot of family traditions growing up, we started our own family Christmas traditions where each winter we drive to the Smokey Mountains “Griswold style” and put on our finest matching Christmas jammies and ride the Polar Express.  I’m sure most of you have read the classic tale or seen the movie, this magical train ride truly makes you feel as if you are one of the characters.  We sing Christmas carols, drink way too much hot cocoa, dance, eat endless chocolate chip cookies and meet Santa Clause himself.  The kids each receive their own Christmas Bell and get to tell Santa exactly what they want for Christmas.  Seeing the pure JOY and MAGIC in each one of their eyes as he hands them their bell to ring is enough to fulfill my heart for an entire lifetime.  I encourage each one of you to build lasting memories like these, if not just for yourself, for your kiddos so that they may carry on the tradition with their children and so on.

Family Christmas Traditions don’t always have to be handed down, they can start with you!

 

 

 

Last year we decided to spend the night at Boyd’s Christmas Tree Farm where we have cut down our tree for the past 5 years.  Boyd’s farm gives me all the feels like Christmas morning.  You wake up to open your eyes surrounded by thousands of future Christmas Trees.  Just thinking about each and every future home they will fill brings joy to my heart.  For me this tradition is so important because we head back to simpler times and try and cut out television and social media, instead baking Christmas cookies, playing monopoly and checkers, and reading ‘Twas Night Before Christmas by the fireside.   Before my grandfather passed he used to read the same chapter from the Bible to all of us recalling the birth of Jesus Christ.   My cousins and I would sit quietly scattered about the floor as he read aloud from his weathered bible.  It’s moments like that in my childhood that imprinted the importance of my faith forever.

 

 

 

  

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed Thanksgiving.  Let’s soon prepare for the magic of Christmas with our own fun Christmas family traditions!