However, now that I am on maternity leave and I have a baby, I know things will be different this year. While Layla is really too young to understand or remember her first Christmas, there are certain traditions that we'd like to maintain, and others we'd like to add to our first holiday season as a family of three.
What We're Keeping:
* Gifts (or lack thereof)
When Mike and I first started dating, we went crazy with gift-giving. However, it's been years since we've actually purchased gifts for one another. Why? Well, we'd rather put that money towards something for the house, and to be honest, if we really want/need something, we usually just buy it ourselves. So this year, especially since we just moved into our new house, we will be refraining from spending money on one another.
* Lots of Family Parties
Each year, we usually have six family parties to attend. Since everyone is excited to meet Layla, we will make the normal rounds this holiday season (although next year, I'm going to lobby for cutting it down)!
What We're Adding:
* A tree!
Since our old apartment was so tiny, we rarely decorated and although we had a smaller tree, we just got lazy within recent years. But this year? We went all out!
* Christmas Cards/Birth Announcements
Mike and I have only sent out cards once in our nine years together. But this year, we designed a super cute holiday birth announcement, and I am really excited to send them out!
* AMAZON.COM
Let's be real - with a newborn baby on our hands, the majority of our gift purchasing is coming straight to our door.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
We used to go crazy with gift-giving too! I mean, CRAZY!!! This year, we each bought each other one thing (and we already gave it to each other). We always watch A Christmas Story of Christmas Day, decorate with a real tree, and go to the Southern Lights (like a festival of lights you drive through). We also eat his family's traditional Christmas meal (tacos, including homemade shells)--they are from California. This year, we are making a new tradition---since I always ate turkey on Christmas, we are doing that just for us.
ReplyDeleteI blogged about our traditions. I love your tree! I love the birth announcement holiday card combo! My poor hubby usually spoils me with gifts but he's so cheap the rest of the year I deserve it. 6 holiday parties is crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI just love your tree. It's so gorgeous! And, that you don't do gifts. I hope Steven and I get to that point, some day. His birthday is the 22nd, anyway, so he will get something. And amen for Amazon.com. I am ordering almost everything online this year.
ReplyDeleteI like what you say about your holiday spirit. I have it too, but also don't go overboard/get too involved, as you said. I don't go all out decorating, or make a ton of crazy food... I really just try to see my fave people more :)
Your tree is stunning! Once we had kids, it became all about the kids. As I've gotten older I've come to appreciate experiences over stuff. The kids will often reminisce over something that happened on a trip but rarely remember a toy, so I'm trying hard to get them into this mindset as well. Not to say there aren't toys, but certainly not gobs of them.
ReplyDeleteThat tree is Pinterest worthy. So pretty!!! I would say 90% of my shopping is done online. It's just so much easier than fighting the crowds. My fav tradition is our advent book countdown. Collin is so into it this year.
ReplyDeleteIs that your tree!!!? Ahh, so pretty! We have a fake tree, and if my mom and brother weren't coming for Christmas (they are allergic to real trees) we would get a real one this year probably since we're staying in Rochester. We don't do cards, ever, and I try to do most of my shopping online!
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas and I love traditions! My favorite is 12 Dates of Christmas where we try to have 12 family dates in December (can be anything from a movie to dinner to driving around looking at lights). We aren't doing it this year because we are low on cash and there aren't 12 free things to do, but we are trying to incorporate a few things in. We've never had a tree either, just a small 2 foot tree that sits on a table. Hopefully next year we can get one. Hope you have a great holiday season - it is so much more fun with kids!
ReplyDeleteGirl, I totally get the whole newborn thing during the holidays. Since Kennedy was born 8 days before Christmas, I did my Christmas shopping and wrapped all the presents before Thanksgiving! And bought them all online. I love the idea of spending less on each other and more on the house/things we really need. I think we should try that next year.
ReplyDeleteWe're not doing gifts this year, mostly because we want to put the money towards the wedding instead. And I really didn't want Roscoe peeing all over our tree this year, so no tree.
ReplyDeleteWe have decorated, though, which means lots of lights and candles!
I totally get being a little lazy with decorations - this is the first year in about 7 or 8 that I didn't put up a tree (note that I say "I," because my husband could honestly care less if we decorate, so I do it by myself for myself). I miss it, but man is that a lot of work! We don't have a lot of space for one, so it involves moving furniture around, lugging an end table down 3 flights of stairs to the storage unit, then dragging all the decorations up aforementioned stairs. So I stuck some lights and garland up with command hooks :)
ReplyDeleteMy holiday traditions since moving to Chicago include a holiday dinner with my favorite co-workers, holiday party with friends, sleepover at my in-laws for Christmas Eve/day, and over the last 5 years, going to see Andrew Bird at a church downtown (we're going tonight actually, exciting!).
Yay that you have a tree! Best part! My favorite is the ornaments on the tree... you can so personalize them and remember them for years to come.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile my favorite tradition (that's fallen away lately) is opening one small gift Christmas Eve. I think it started when my bro and I were super impatient and then it carried on. Sometimes we don't do it if we're away or if we don't have many small gifts...
Haha! Amazon seriously rocks. Even sans bebe, I try to do all of my Christmas shopping that way (or at least online).
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas tree looks gorgeous, Meghan!
It sounds like it is going to be a magical holiday season with Layla!
I love your tree! We put up our first tree and I just love looking at it. I feel like I could keep adding and adding to it. Perhaps this is normal for your first tree? Who knows? It makes me so very happy though!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am right there with you when it comes to Amazon! I have been able to deliver gifts to people all over the world thanks to their wonderfulness!
Wishing you, Mike and Layla a very merry first Christmas as a family!
We've never gone crazy with gift giving to each other mainly because if we want/need something we usually get it! I LOVE your tree! I'm not decorating this year since we're visiting family and seeing everyone's pictures make me wish that I did. I already can't wait for next year! We've sent out Christmas cards every year since we got married and we went with a holiday birth announcement too! I can't wait for them to arrive so I can send them out!
ReplyDeleteGood Lord you are so me. Why can't we live together and be real life friends. We are exactly the same person. We even have the same name. I've seriously never read a post of yours where I'm not like, "Yes. That."
ReplyDeleteI think your tree looks great!! You did a wonderful job! I sent you a Christmas card, hope you got it!
ReplyDeleteHurray for a tree!! I do like it when my husband buys me a few gifts though. I'm more of the personality type that I don't like to buy things for myself--although I do like candy and or a new dress or those types of non-necessities once in a while, so I'm not sure I could ever totally do away with gifts!
ReplyDeleteMe and Nate usually go all out for each other during Christmas because we are those folks who won't spend money on themselves. So if we really want something we usually hold out til our birthday or Christmas :). I love that tree, it's gorgeous!!!
ReplyDelete