December for the Frenches

I always look forward to December. We have a few traditions we continue each year and we usually try a few new things too. We lighten the load on school work and put a lot of focus on Advent: time of waiting, a time of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Jesus.

Every year we love going to pick out our tree together. This is the one, Daddy!

We have created a Jesse tree of some sort for 4-5 years and it has been great. "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1 The Jesse tree is used to represent the stories of people in Jesus' family tree. Each day you read scripture and the corresponding bible story and you reflect on what the Bible is trying to tell us. It begins with creation and leads up to Jesus' birth. After we read the Bible story each day, we hang a corresponding symbol or ornament on the Jesse tree that the kids create.

Our completed tree!

In addition to the Jesse Tree, we also did an Advent Countdown. We have done this once or twice in the past and the kids really like it. Each day there will be something for the kids to do. Here are some examples of some of the activities we did this year:

• give your brother and sister two compliments today
• write a soldier a letter
• family Christmas movie night
• donate items from your pantry to the local food bank
• make homemade hot cocoa
• bake cookies for the neighbors
• donate 5 of your toys
• leave a nice note for someone to find
• read the M&M Christmas Story

The idea is to take the focus off of yourself and do for others. And for the days we were gone for Disney, I included ideas like: eat lunch with a Princess, ride a roller coaster, take a family Christmas selfie. We opened all these days when we got back home and there was no "catch-up" to do, which was nice.

Dipping pretzels with the kids. Mae LOVED this and she even had her own bowl! Dipping pretzels and making candy {divinity, pralines, peanut butter balls, fudge} is a memory I have as a child, so I love creating these memories with my children as well.

Watch us in action!

Building and decorating our Gingerbread House Village. 

After we got home from the Christmas Eve service, the kids all lined up to open their first gift of the season. Each year they get to open one gift on Christmas Eve.

See what they opened up!

Daddy and the girls spreading out the Reindeer Food in the yard on Christmas Eve. We gave bags of Reindeer Food to each family at our Neighborhood Christmas Party.

The stockings are ready to go for the kiddos.

 The presents are all wrapped and the kids are tucked into bed.

The kids woke up around 7:15 on Christmas morning and were ready to open gifts!

Watch the kids in action!

We have a tradition of having cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. My first memory of doing this is  in Deer Park in 2008 when Jase was still a baby. These past two years we have stepped up our game and made them from scratch. We follow Pioneer Woman's recipe and they turn out delicious. There are quite a few steps involved, but they are so worth it. And it makes so much that we were able to bless a couple of neighbors with a pan of them.

 Christmas Service with the crew!

This year Shawn requested Italian food on Christmas Day. We thought that Chicken Alfredo and garlic bread would be best for our family since they aren't big on red sauce. I have made it before and remember it being more involved, but it was relatively easy this time. Since Ree Drummond is so reliable, I went with Pioneer Woman for the recipe!! Love her!

Happy Birthday to Jesus! We make a cake every year on Christmas Eve to celebrate. We sang Happy Birthday after lunch on Christmas Day. 

Playing the Wii on Christmas afternoon!

We had a fun December and many memories were made. I'm thankful for it and am looking forward to getting into the New Year and back into routine.