A team of over twenty-five parents who have all sorts of parenting experiences. From the Mom of thirteen with one on the way, to the first-time Dad of one. From the experienced parent, to the rookie! If you want the truth…. we are all rookies. Each day presents something new, somewhere we have not already been, something that we have not already done. So, why not look to someone who has?!
The KP BTDT Squad will be sharing their experiences and answering two questions per month. Each parent will answer the questions if they can and their answers will be compiled into a feature post to share with readers. These will be general questions that many parents will wonder about as they raise their children. The BTDT Squad will be talking about subjects like potty training, how they dealt with picky eaters, their most favourite family adventures, and how they managed to ever sleep through the night!

KP Been There Done That

KP Been There Done That Squad - treating a cold and rainy day entertainment

KP Been There Done That Squad – temper tantrum talk

KP Been There Done That – discipline discussion

KP Been There Done That – chore chat

If you have any questions, or would like to get involved, simply contact elizabeth@kamloopsparents.com

Today’s topic is Christmas Traditions

What is your family’s favourite Christmas tradition?

Tamara V
We decorate our front yard each Christmas with things we find around our house (no going to the mall).  Past displays have included; making trees out of hockey sticks and covering them with Christmas lights, turning a box into a sleigh and setting up all of our bikes (covered in lights) as ‘reindeer’ and, last year, turning a bike box into a fireplace hearth (complete with real stockings, wooden logs & orange Hallowe’en light for the ‘fire’).

Joshua M
We have tried to take some of the holiday emphasis on santa and shopping and put it back to the giving and helping meaning. We really don’t have a “tradition” but we try to come up with different “gifts to Jesus”, aka good will gestures.

Erin
Favorite tradition – it’s new as we’ve just had 1 year as a ‘family’…after opening gifts in the morning, we bundle up for an afternoon of cross country skiing (so we can earn the extra stuffing at dinner!)

Jennifer H
We like to take out all our decorations and set up our Christmas tree, while listening to Christmas albums – specifically A Kenny Rogers Christmas and A Boney M Christmas (I listened to these as a child as well, and have now passed it on to my kids!)  We then set up the camera and take a family picture (including the dog!) in front of the decorated Christmas tree.

Miranda
We have lots during this time of year. We dedicate the whole month of December to do something as a family everyday until Christmas. Things like baking, going to see Santa, painting the snow, picnic in the living room watching a Christmas movie. ect..
We also keep a large basket of all our Christmas stories out.

Sarah K
I don’t know if we have a favourite!  We have a few traditions!  We wait until December 1st to decorate – it’s getting harder and harder to wait!  We turn on the Christmas music loud and dance and decorate together!
We always go tree hunting together.  We make it a big event.  The kids so far don’t really care what tree we get so it’s usually my husband and myself choosing the tree.
We always use our advent tree to count down to Christmas.
My kids always get new pj’s for Christmas.  They get to open them Christmas Eve and wear them to bed that night

Kylie
One of our favorite things is the elves coming to visit out tree!  This is a memory I always loved as a child, so have continued it with my own children.  Over the Christmas season the elves visit our tree while we’re sleeping.  They can leave candy canes, or chocolates, or any small surprise that can be tucked in the branches of the tree.  My kids LOVE coming down and discovering that the elves had come in the night!

Amanda H
I love baking and I really try to involve my 3 year old and 18 Month old.  I also try to get the kids very involved in the decorating. This year I am putting a big emphasis on giving to others this Christmas and will be taking the boys to purchase toys to donate to the toy drives.  This is the first year my oldest is really beginning to understand about holidays and gifts and I want him to understand the importance of giving especially to those who need it most.

Jen H
I am a huge fan of traditions, they are timekeepers of the year for me.  I love to see how my children anticipate each event and the fond memories of my childhood that come to the surface while sharing a special tradition.  Like many families, as children my siblings and I were allowed to open one gift Christmas Eve, every year that gift  was new PJ’s.  Now my children get a gift of new PJ’s that sets the tone for the rest of the evening.  We all change into our new Pj’s, pop some popcorn, make a nice hot cuppa, and snuggle in to watch a favourite Christmas movie.  After it’s over time to leave the cookies & milk for Santa, carrots & celery for the reindeer then bedtime.  One weekend prior to Christmas my entire family, including close friends, and neighbours gets together to decorate homemade gingerbread houses.  My Mom bakes over 20 houses per year and young and old get together and, with some good natured competition, set to outdo everyone else by creating “the best” house.  I love this day because it is often the one time during the holidays that I see many of these friends since I have moved from my hometown and we are all getting older and celebrating with our own families.  For me the Christmas Season really begins with that first finger-lick of icing.

Krystal
Our family technically doesn’t celebrate Christmas but instead we celebrate the Winter Solstice. The kids love it. We decorate a ‘winter tree’ in the yard on on a favorite trail with food for the ‘winter spirits’ (deer, birds, squirrels). At dusk on the winter solstice we light candles and say a prayer giving thanks for the warmth and bounty the sun provides us. We spend the longest night of the year in candle light honoring the darkness and a little more grateful for the return of the sun in the coming weeks and months.

Wendy
Opening one present on christmas eve… Usually pj’s or similar items like socks and underwear.

Carissa
We don’t have many exciting traditions in our house for Christmas. We are always busy running between my family and my husband’s! We do the open one gift on christmas eve, and it’s pjs. We make waffles for breakfast and spend the day enjoying each other’s company, and building the children’s new toys!!

Tamara C
Our family’s favourite Christmas tradition is driving out to the boonies to choose the perfect Christmas tree, bringing it home and decorating it while listening to Christmas music.

Danica
One of my favorite holiday activities that my husband and I always did together from the beginning of our relationship and that we continue to do with our children every year is, on a nice clear evening, we bundle up and either go for a long walk or a cozy drive to look at all the Christmas lights. It is a very low key activity, which is a nice change during the hustle and bustle of the season. It is quiet. We can visit with each other, take in the beauty, and just enjoy the celebration.

Lara
Picking out and decorating the Christmas tree.  We usually go to Art Knapp’s, the kids get to run through all the trees and pick out their favorite.  We bring it home, and our son helps his dad put on the lights.  Then we all decorate it together.

Tracy
We have found it tough to establish traditions because we seem to still fall into traditions from my family of origin, which is where we generally spend our holiday.  BUT I think it’s an important thing, so we are slowly building some with our son.  One is new pajamas to wear to bed on Christmas eve.  Another has been our annual cookie exchange with friends which is a nice start to the season.

Courtney
It is so difficult to choose just one holiday tradition! If I had to, I’d say the Christmas tree: going to the Christmas tree farm and choosing the perfect tree, giving each child a new ornament each year (My mom did this for me and every year it is magical to open my ornament box because it is filled with so many memories, plus by the time I moved out, I had enough ornaments to fill a whole tree!), taking turns putting the angel on top each year, and finding the Christmas pickle (haven’t heard of it? Google it!). Then turning all of the lights in the house off for the big tree reveal. And some rum and eggnog helps too!

Sophie
As my children are only 3, we are just starting to establish traditions, but I love that we do everything as a family at Christmas. My favourite thing has been the way we spread gifts over a number of days (not sure if we will be able to get away with it when they get older though). We open gifts from one side of the family on Christmas Eve when we have Christmas with them. Christmas Day we do stockings, presents from Santa, and presents to each other (our family unit). Boxing Day is often spent with the other side of the family, so we open those presents then. I love that my girls have more time to play with and appreciate what they get (and who they get it from). It also gives us more time for visiting and relaxing during the holidays.

Holly
Getting a Christmas Tree.  We always go on a hunt (sorry I can’t disclose where) but we try to make a day out of it.  It is so great to get outside, hike around, chop a tree and have a little bonfire.  It  is a whole family event that I totally love!

Ben
I just do whatever my wife tells me to do and we make our own traditions as we go.

Sean
I don’t know if I can define a favorite single defining tradition at Christmas.  Looking at Christmas lights during the days leading up to christmas is something we frequently do but spending time with family, opening the presents and having a big turkey dinner are the things we consistently do every year.

Elizabeth
How can I poosibly pick just one?! Our family does an ADVENTure calendar where there are special and memorable activities every day that we do together. From cookies to Wildlights to ornaments to getting our tree and having glow stick dance parties, December is a special time in our house where we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.  We try on focus on giving of ourselves and spending quality time with those we love.

About your Author | Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a Kamloops lifer. Born at RIH, she is happy to be raising her family here. Married with three wonderful children, Elizabeth is a full-time teacher and enjoys working with parents as she learns more about this "Mommy gig". Elizabeth is passionate about parenting and enjoys networking with other parents. She has been running KamloopsParents.Com since March 2010.