In my own family I had started an Advent tradition with my young daughter. I made a board with a path on it & a hill covered in craft moss. Sat next to the manger scene. Each day of advent we would read an advent reading & Bible scripture & our young daughter at the time would move Mary & joseph (& of course the donkey)closer to the manger scene.

Beluef in Santa was NOT a part of Christmas which irritated my inlaws no end with their secular celebration of Christmas. They always threw a huge Christmas eve party which we went to AFTER doing the church activities & they tried hard to get our daughter to believe in Santa. They even had a santa come to their party & had our daughter oprn the door which she actuslly closed on him . It was cute & funny & we had fun as there were other young kids at the party that year.

Christmas eve was always about a church service which is not common where I live now. Novfamily to celebrate with. Life changes, traditions change.

Now I go caroling with my church group to the nursing home & to visit shut ins. I do most yimes still make the tea rolls for Christmas morning breakfast that my grandma, & my mom made.

Church & Christ's birth is still main focus even though we finallybknow that historically it didnt happen in December but actually in the early fall but its good to have a day of rememberance anyway to acknowledge Christ's birth.

Maybe if my house & life were more organized I would have more traditions built to enjoy. Traditions when alone arent as fun as they are sharing them with others