Christmas Traditions?

The word tradition comes from the Latin word traditio which means "to hand down" or "to hand over."

My family and I share many traditions during the Christmas season...

• While dragging all the Christmas decorations out of the attic, everyone MUST be an active participant. No one gets to sit on the couch and wait to decorate the tree!
  
• We think it's necessary to eat Jeno's pizza snacks while trimming the tree.
  
• We love to Christmas shop as a family. When our girls were little, Murphy and I would divide them between us and hit the aisles of Walmart to choose gifts for grandparents, sisters, and friends. This year, we tried shopping as one big amoeba, but soon split up into clusters.
• Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without mashed potatoes.
  

This year we will be celebrating our Christmas traditions in different ways and maybe even making several new ones. Since we are still living in transitional housing, we won't be trimming a tree or eating Jeno's snacks. We did drag all our Christmas decorations out of the attic as a family, but they are now neatly packed away in our Kentucky storage unit. We have been shopping and we'll definitely have mashed potatoes or Tessa will melt.

In twenty-four years of marriage, Murphy and I have never lived apart. In January, the girls and I will have lived nine months away from Murphy. It's awful and they are beginning to show the strains of life without a dad at home. We are also realizing having our family together, living under one roof, and celebrating together as a family will mean more to them this year than in past years.

Our newest Christmas tradition just might be linking together...simplicity of life with a grateful spirit while adding a big scoop of thanksgiving.

What are the family traditions you practice?
How have they evolved over the years?