My daughter’s first Christmas was in 2005 and we took on the daunting task of hosting a Christmas breakfast for my family. Except it wasn’t daunting and it wasn’t a task. My husband and I enjoyed it and have made it a family tradition. This will be our fifth year hosting a Christmas breakfast for our immediate family and my parents, grandparents and sibling.
It takes a little planning, but we have it down to a science. Christmas day can be somewhat hectic for us because we leave at noon to drive 4 hours to my husband’s family. So we meticulously plan out the morning so the two of us and our kids don’t feel rushed or stressed. If that were the case, I wouldn’t put us through it.
I keep the menu simple with a breakfast casserole, fresh fruit and baked goods. Two days before Christmas I make the baked goods usually muffins or coffee cake or both. On Christmas Eve, I cut up the fruit and set the table. I also prepare the breakfast casserole to be put in the fridge overnight. We also pack up the van for our trip.
On Christmas morning, I wake up by 7 to get ready, make coffee and put the casserole in the oven.
We then enjoy the morning with our kids to see what Santa has brought us. My family starts to arrive around 9:30. We eat at 10. I load the dishwasher up, turn it on and everyone is out the door at noon. We exchange gifts with my family on Christmas Eve after our church service.
I grew up with my extended family all around me. My mother always had a very delicious, yet casual breakfast on Christmas morning for our family and my grandparents. I use the word ‘casual’ because there wasn’t a rush to get out the door to drive 4 hours when I grew up. Both sets of my grandparents lived near me. That is not the case for my kids and my husband only gets to his hometown 2-3 times a year.
So we pack as much into Christmas day as we can. So far it has worked, but our kids are very young and flexible and if we need to do things differently in the years to come, we will.
For now, though, Christmas breakfast is my favorite tradition. I enjoy planning it, making it and seeing my family together that morning. I feel very blessed.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? Please let us know in the comments.
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this post is linked to:
- Finer Things Friday at Amy’s Finer Things
- Frugal Friday at Life As Mom
Busy busy! 🙂 Well, we try to squeeze 7 Christmas’s together as much as possible. Yes, I know…that’s alot of family. Our first priority is to enjoy our Christmas together while our children are still young, yes I’m selfish, but that is my priority since we have so many people that want us to spend it with them. This year, we’re combining two of them *thank goodness the in-laws agreed to come over for Christmas morning breakfast*, then we pack up and drive 4 hours to see the rest of the family. Our most importantly family tradition is to let everyone know how much we love them and to make the most of the time we share together. We are so blessed…
Wow, I thought I had a hectic Christmas. You do great being able to manage all that! Enjoyed reading your post.