Decorating for Christmas

After our Thanksgiving week in California, we decorated for Christmas which is one of our favorite things to do. It took a long time since we have accumulated many wonderful Christmas decorations (thanks to Tai Pan and Adrian's European touch).

One of my childhood memories was when we put out the nativities. The rule was to do nice things for others secretly so you could fill the manger with hay. I always tried to do the most acts of kindness so the Savior could lie comfortably in the manger. Yes, I am so thoughtful and humble too!

We also had "pixies" which is similar to secret Santa's. We would choose a siblings name and get a gift for them. It was always fun to go to the swap meet or South Coast Plaza to purchase that special gift.

Another tradition was to play Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. My grandma made our family a red Christmas bag and each person would gather their gifts, take a picture and put the gifts under the tree. This year Adrian and I know what we are getting so I thought it would fun to wrap the gifts and put them under the tree. I was a little spoiled this year. I guess I was a good girl this year!

This is the first year that I have a stocking personalized just for me. Adrian's was done two years ago but I wanted the colors in our stockings to be similar. The two stockings in the middle were our old ones that my grandma knitted. I had the longest stocking when I was growing up but now my stockings are the same length. My nieces and nephews are so lucky! I guess we will see if Santa fills both of them this year.

Well, we are excited for this Christmas season because we get to have my parents stay with us. It won't matter that they have our bedroom since we have a tradition of sleeping by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. I am so grateful for this time of year where we get to think about our Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us. We are so blessed. We hope all of you have a happy Christmas (as they say in England) and a happy new year.