What was your favorite Christmas childhood memory? You may remember one or two of the most important childhood events in your life. But often, our childhood memories are vague remembrances fueled by a retelling of stories by our parents. In truth, we rarely remember some of the most amazing events in our lives.
This was evidenced in my own family when I began talking about the time we had to replace our Christmas tree. The Christmas tree disaster was a wonderful event for our kids. What kid doesn’t want to decorate a tree twice! And, we talked about it for years. When the kids asked for pictures, I had nothing to show them. I mean, who wants to take a picture of a tree with falling needles and ornaments on the ground? Which made me consider having the children create a memory book.
Just like we chronicle different events with journals, why not do a memory book of special events with our kids? And what I wanted to create was something we could add to each year. And that turned into the Thanksgiving Journal, the Christmas Journal, and the New Year’s Journal. The Christmas journal is the topic of this post.
Our schedules are overflowing at Christmas time, and while school work may wind down, it seems that instead, our social lives speed up. There are plays to rehearse, gifts to buy or make and wrap, and gatherings to attend. Of course, there are decorations to put up, and baking begins in earnest or, at the very least, the purchase of Christmas cookies to share with family and friends. Why this rush? Well, it’s tradition and expected.
Family Traditions:
But, do you have a family tradition that you cherish and hold dear? For us, the one stabilizing fact is that we have an Advent Calendar with our countdown to Christmas. It begins one month before Christmas, and each night we light one candle (there are 4 in total), and we celebrate the coming of our Savior with readings from the Bible. I love it, and the children enjoy it as well. After our readings, we go around the room and share what we are thankful for each day. It is a beautiful way to celebrate the countdown in a less materialist way.
Is there a family recipe you wish you had? I know in my own family, we lost several cherished recipes, and after my mother died, I found one in, of all places, her address book! At that point, I urged my children to start recipe books of their own and add recipes they liked and wanted to keep for “someday.”
Where do these unique recipes and events get recorded? For many, they do not get recorded, and that is the shame of trying to remember those wonderful events. Sure, we can look at the pictures, but the pictures are often only part of the story. Having your children create a Christmas Memory Journal is half of the fun! They can add to this each year with additional pages.
Christmas Memory Journal:
Here is a FREE Christmas Memory Journal that you can print this out and have your children use this book each year to add favorite memories.
What are some things they can add to this book?
- Favorite family recipes
- Special family traditions.
- Special family events.
- People who attended or gathered together.
- A unique or memorable gift.
The best part of this journal is reading what took place in the past years. It does not have to be long; a page or two will suffice! For some kids, it is a drawing and two words; for others, they do a beautiful job in writing down what they want to remember. The Christmas Memory journal has been a great hit in my own family, and I pray it is in each one of yours as well!
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