Christmas Traditions

My little family has moved around a lot since my almost 4 year old has been born, and it always seems to take a little time before we are all settled in and really feel at home. I would like for us to develop some special traditions for the holidays that can make, wherever we are, feel like home and give my son the same happy, warm feelings of his childhood during the holidays that I have of mine.

The Tradition: 12 days of Christmas
Individually wrap 12 books that the child can open and read, one each night, leading up to Christmas!

I came accross the idea on Pinterest sometime last year and knew right away this would be something we would do year after year. I have always been a big reader and that is something I wanted for my son, but Lex, well, I wish I could say he was a book worm like me, but his attention span is that of a 3 year old boy. I want more for him than just the bedtime story, that sometimes we can’t even get all the way through. Since he is getting a little older I thought it was time to move on from the very simple storylines of his board books to real books with hard covers and paper pages.

This is Lex’s Library wall, and after he opens all his new books, we will have to add a few more shelves and turn that wall into a library corner – or nook, which was the plan all along.

As you can probably guess I had way too much fun book shopping for him. I bought a few books from Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon & a few Usborne parties that friends hosted. Before I knew it I had way too many books – if that’s even a thing. So I just decided to turn the 12 days into 18 and let him open his first book last night. Plus I just can’t wait to read all these books myself! It was ‘Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site’ and considering his recent obsession with Cranes & Bulldozers it turned out to be an excellent choice, just in time too because I’m a little tired of his current favorite ‘Goodnight Gorilla’.

Another tradition we started last year was to have 2 Christmas trees. One for Lex to decorate however he wants and one for mom to decorate however I want. I’m not going to say I am a control freak with OCD but let’s just say everyone is happy this way 😉 Plus now he has a ton of presents under his tree all December long.

I hope this new Christmas tradition, along with expanding his library into a nook & getting a fun chair to throw in there will subtly enough encourage him to spend more time enjoying books and reading.

I want to hear about your family’s Christmas Traditions. Did you start them with your family or have they been passed down from generation to generation?

About the Photographer:Jennifer Reina Photography specializes in newborn, maternity and baby photography in Newnan Georgia and surrounding areas including but not limited to Peachtree City, GA and Coweta County.

Comments 22

Payal Patel

December 8, 2014 at 7:26 pm

That is an absolutely fantastic idea! I love this. What an amazing way to get children to read more books.

Tonya Palumbo

December 8, 2014 at 2:32 pm

What a perfect blog idea and great photos to display this exciting time of year!

Mandy

December 8, 2014 at 2:46 pm

What a fantastic idea – love ideas to encourage little readers – thanks for sharing. Beautiful images as well, of course!

Sara Montague Miller

December 8, 2014 at 8:22 pm

LOVE this tradition! Definitely something I'd like to do when I have kids. I gave that Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site to a three-year-old for his birthday a while back, and he loved it! 🙂