My Favorite Christmas Traditions

I like traditions but are not bound to keep the same ones going forever and ever. I have fond memories of traditions that we no longer do and I have some traditions that are my absolute favorite and I am so glad that we still do them. There are some things I don't think I'll ever outgrow :)

Past Traditions

• Mom's Felt Advent Calendar. We did this until we moved. This calendar was all felt, with 25 pockets that held an assortment of ornaments. Each day, you opened a pocket and pinned the ornament inside onto the felt tree at the top. The ornaments were put back randomly each year, but we still knew what they were, so we started a game where we had to put our hand in and guess what it was before we pulled it out. It was really fun! Some year when we were teens, Mom swapped out a few of the ornaments, but we learned those ones too. We didn't mind and we enjoyed our game.
  
• Waiting Behind Closed Doors. In our old house, we had doors between the hallway where all our bedrooms were and the living room. Mom and Dad kept them closed while we did our Advent calendars and then there was a grand reveal where we got to come out and see the tree. It did get a little cheesy as teenagers but I still have fond memories of it. And we sometimes did funny things as we walked in.
  

Current Traditions

• Dad Reading The Muppets. One of our Advent calendars is a retelling of The Gift of the Magi by the Muppets. My dad does all the voices and it's HILARIOUS! We even had him read it all the way through at our youth group.
  
• Jesus' Birthday Cake. I think this one might go back to when my mom and uncle were kids but I'm not sure. My grammy makes a red velvet cake with chocolate frosting and sticks a candle in it. All the grandkids sit in front of it and everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. I think it's such a fun way to remember that we are celebrating Jesus being born.
  

A tradition that I love but isn't every year is playing in the snow with my cousins. If we have enough snow, we will attach sleds to the back of the ATV and drive all around our grandparent's backyard! Sometimes we even go one their (dead-end) street! It's a blast and half the fun is that the sleds come untied frequently.

What are some of your favorite current or past traditions?