The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies. I love the music in it. And while not raindrops on roses, or whiskers on kittens, I want to share a few of our “favorite holiday things” with you. Things that our family traditionally displays and enjoys during the Christmas season. You may find they're some of your favorites too!
Our Manger Scene
We had a beautiful Willow Tree Nativity that we always used to put out prior to moving to Mexico. However, in Mexico, it is generally only the Catholics who display manger scenes at Christmas, so, in an effort not to confuse or be a stumbling block, we didn't bring it with us. We did however, bring the Fisher Price Little People manger scene, and our kids love to play with it each December, reenacting scenes from the story of Luke 2. If you want a newer Deluxe version, Fisher Price has a great set!
Personalized Ornaments
I still own my “baby's first Christmas” ornament. And now each of our children have their own Hallmark Baby's First Christmas ornaments, along with a few other “special” ones that we always put on the tree. The kids get such joy out of opening the box of special ornaments each year and finding theirs to importantly hang on the tree.
Christmas Music and Candles
It's a tough thing to wait until after Thanksgiving to get out the Christmas music. Everyone in our family enjoys it, even Hero! It pretty much plays daily the last two months of the year and in addition to the scented candles we burn regularly during the holidays, keeps our house feeling cheery and festive. Our favorite CDs this year are It's Christmas
and White Christmas. And we are really loving the homemade Apple Strudel and Cinnamon Cider scented candles from The Neely Team on etsy.com.
Christmas Quilts
Right now we have 3 Christmas quilts that appear every winter. One a large queen size log cabin pattern that is my favorite, another throw on the back of the couch in random Christmas fabrics (in photo) and a snowman lap quilt in a 3-D pattern. These are not only festive, they are hand made heirlooms that will one day be passed down to our children, and we love to cuddle up together in them, tropical weather permitting. Below is a picture taken back in 2013 with one of our Christmas quilts in the background.
Fireplace
The houses here don't have fireplaces, not indoors at least. It's too warm! However, for the sake of coziness and tradition (and a place to hang our stockings) we invent one each year! And it is a favorite centerpiece and memory every time! Read about this tradition here!
Christmas Book Basket
We LOVE books! We read them all the time! And at Christmas time we go through our home library pulling out all the Christmas ones to put in a basket in the living room for easy access. Some of our favorites are
- Humphrey's First Christmas
- The Candymaker's Gift: The Legend of the Candy Cane
- The Polar Express
- Snowmen at Night and Snowmen at Christmas
- Bear Stays Up for Christmas
What are some of your favorite Christmas things?
This post is part of the 20 Days of Ultimate Christmas Lists Series on Paradise Praises. Be sure to click the photo below and check out all the other great lists. You may also want to follow my Christmas boards on Pinterest.
Wagner says
Amazing site, congrats God bless you!