December the 1st... the Christmas countdown has begun! The advent calendars are out (my dream of sewing one didn't happen this year... so yay for chocolate themed ones!), the kids are asking me every morning how many sleeps til Christmas, and I am wondering how we are going to get through the next few weeks!

It is amazing how different the traditions and celebrations are in every family for Christmas.

In our family we focus on the birth of Jesus at Christmas time rather than Santa (although I think Saint Nick was pretty amazing!). We loving making a "Happy Jesus Birthday Cake" each year and reading the Christmas story from the Bible.

Traditions and celebrations are so important... they build a sense of belonging in a family.

Last year, Mandrake decided to start putting pillowcases at the end of the kids' beds... I think he thought it would be a great plan to leave some presents in there that they could open while we slept in on Christmas morning... but alas, we had bouncy kids on the bed showing us what was in their pillowcases really early in the morning!

So when I saw a roll of fabric on special with a stocking shape to sew of "Hello Kitty", I decided to sew one for each of the girls.

I don't quite know how stockings fit with our "Happy Jesus Birthday" theme... but I really like them! They even looked pretty cool to wear.

What traditions and celebrations do you do at Christmas time?