Better late than ever is what I’ve always heard!!!
Here’s a little of what this special holiday looked like for me!!
Christmas started 12 days before the 25th, with a Christmas riff off, stocking hanging(our socks), ugly Christmas sweater or best Christmas costume contest, an awesome real life version of the Christmas story, decorating, a movie night where we watched elf and lots of singing.
We filled stockings with words of affirmation, suckers, or bracelets that were made, maybe an avocado or orange too. A tradition I want to continue, didn’t need anything other than sweet words from people that mean the most.
We even made our own tree with twigs and leaves that we taped together. Made snowflakes out of paper and hung them up.
Christmas Eve service, included singing carols and candle lighting all together.
Stayed up late drinking some coffee and finishing last minute present wrapping for secret Santa and letter writing for everyone on the squads stockings.
Woke up Christmas morning at 5:30 am to fulfill some Christmas traditions with cinnamon rolls. Santa did good (our Christmas planning committee) a long table decorated all nice and clean with stockings as place mats and plates full of cookies.
After eating some cinnamon rolls and fried cinnamon apples we separated into our teams and exchanged gifts. My secret Santa gave me some scrunchies they don’t use, half a bottle full of hand sanitizer that smelled like Christmas, an orange, avocado, package of cookies, and a mirinda drink. The sweetest gift, couldn’t of asked for anything more. Didn’t need to be huge or pricey, just straight from the heart.
It was weird this year, when people asked what you wanted for Christmas, that was something that hadn’t even crossed my mind… I couldn’t think of anything other then maybe a Soda or avocado. I remember every year being asked this at home and we would have lists… God is at work people.
After gift exchanging we gathered and celebrated Jesus’s birthday by worshipping, praising, and singing Happy birthday. The reason for this season.
After lunch we had card games, soccer game, volleyball game, just hung out as a family. Ended the night with some hot cocoa (this was a surprise) and watched white Christmas as a squad cuddled up.
Also!! This afternoon we celebrated with some of the kids that live on the same property as us, they got new jeans, cross necklaces we bought at the market that said Jesus, we made them all bracelets, and we saved them some of the cookies, this was a treat. Giving because Christ gave for us, that’s what Christmas is all about. Thank you Jesus for new traditions, Thank you Jesus for family. Though it is so so hard being away from my home family, this is just one Christmas, one Christmas I get to spend with 40 other Jesus-lovin, joy bringing peeps. I’ll never get this again.
