Preparing our Homes

Are you ready?  Are you preparing for the Christ child? We have begun preparing our home and our hearts for the child who was born crucified for our sin.  Let me share some of our traditions with you and I hope you will share some with me.

Traditionally, we begin to prepare our home right after Thanksgiving. I've been a little under the weather and we had company so we delayed a few days.  We thoroughly clean our home just before Thanksgiving.  Then after that day of thanks,we take down all of our fall decorations and pack them up with the tablecloths and linens that reflect those glorious fall colors.

In our home, there is no Christmas music, books or movies until after Thanksgiving day.  No matter how hard the stores push the Christmas season at us (in October now!), we refuse to participate.

We bake some of our favorite Christmas treats and purchase our first jug of eggnog to enjoy during decorating. Because I wasn't feeling well, Josiah took on some of the baking this year and made two of our favorites - Toffee-Chocolate and pretty Christmas M & M cookies.



We also purchased a few cookies that we love!  This is just about the only time we buy cookies.  Homemade is so much better!



Then come the tubs from the basement that hold our Christmas memories both past and future.



My boys are fortunate to have bits of Christmas memories not only from their mama but also their grandparents and great grandparents. Each boy also has his own "Christmas Tub".  Since they were born, I have searched for a special ornament each year that says something special about them or about that year in their life.  When these boys leave home, they will take a tub of family memories with them.

I have, over the years, purchased a Nativity for each of them that reflects their tastes and personality. These will also go with them when they leave my home.  These didn't cost a lot of money - they were purchased after Christmas during the wonderful sales.  One even later than that!  I found Jeremy's at a Tuesday Morning (wonderful store!) much later in the year...on the bottom shelf at the bottom of a pile of broken Christmas trinkets!

We decorate walls, hang lights at our windows and drape our tables with Christmas linens.

We begin to focus more on spending family time together....some Christmas movies with popcorn, some nights filled with games and good things to eat.

Join me next time as I share how we prepare our hearts to receive the Christ child.

Blessings,