Christmas at our House

I keep things simple for Christmas decor, because it’s not really something I excel at or give much thought to. However, I looked around my house one afternoon last week and realized, “Hey! I like it.”

It also reveals some of our traditions…

This year I rolled out wrapping paper to put under our clear vinyl tablecloth (we rotate maps under there most of the year).

We always have an “endless” bowl of oranges during the month of December. And this year Scott snagged a poinsettia for $5 after one of his Willamette Master Chorus concerts. Apparently there was quite a rush for the stage when that announcement was made. 🙂

Every year we read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens as a family (well, me and the kids) and we celebrate finishing by watching Mickey’s Christmas Carol. I keep the book on the table because it reminds me to read during mealtimes.

We have a little homemade nativity scene my mom made on top of our piano, along with a few of the books we’ve read in our Christmas Countdown. The jar on the left is full of little slips of wrapping paper, each with a title of a Christmas book written on it. We pick one paper from the jar every day in December and I go fetch the book out of a box in the garage.

(Some people wrap up each book and put them all in a pretty basket, but I’m a simple lady who doesn’t like to spend time and paper on all that wrapping. 🙂 Oh and at least half of our books come from the library as we are slowly building our collection. My kids are delighted by the tradition anyway. )

Our family room is made for a Christmas tree and Scott really guessed right on the height this year when we cut ours down. On this particular day, the kids took “a trip” to the tree complete with sleeping stuff, clothes packed in backpacks, books to read, etc.

I love how we’re all drawn to the smell and lights and peaceful presence of a fresh Christmas tree all month long.

One night in December we have an official Christmas tree campout and I read aloud until I run out of voice. (For the past two years we’ve read The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke but I might be ready for a change because it’s way over the head of my younger kids.)

We also have a Little People nativity set out for the kids to play with, but it usually looks more like a crime scene than like the peaceful night it’s intended to depict. We have a whole bin of Little People in the closet so all sorts of unexpected animals make their way into the manger scene and more often than not, Mary and Joseph take a cab to Bethlehem. I think the important thing is that they get there. 🙂

Merry Christmas from The Bean Family!