Christmas Boxes

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On the first Saturday in December each year we hold our Christmas tree decorating ceremony.

We begin by reading from Luke in the Bible about Jesus' birth, then I give each of my children a new ornament for their Christmas boxes.

The idea is that these ornaments will decorate our tree for now, but when the children leave home they will each have a box of decorations, one from each year, with which to decorate their own Christmas trees. This is the eighth year we have had Christmas boxes.

Some years I have made decorations but mostly I buy them. This year, with the pressures of work and too many other commitments, buying the decorations was really my only choice.

I try to pick different kinds of decorations each year; sometimes papier mache balls, other times glass or metal decorations. Some I have embroidered on felt, others have been cross-stitched.

Each decoration holds memories for my children of Christmases past.

I love developing new traditions for my family.

What Christmas traditions do you have at your house?