Christmas traditions . . .

When Jill put out the call for folks to share their holiday traditions, I thought it would be easy to think of and detail those things that have become common practice for me during the holidays, but then I realized that my traditions have changed throughout the years. Some, however, have stayed the same, like:

I always put up a fresh cut tree.
When I was a kid, my sisters and I used to wander the woods of New Mexico with our father (usually in the snow) to find the perfect tree. He would climb into the chosen tree, "top" it, drag it out of the woods and tie it to the roof of our car for the ride home. I don't remember loving this tradition so much. In fact, I recall being cold and having snow in my boots.These days I order a fresh cut tree from a tree farm in North Carolina, and the week after Thanksgiving, a perfect little Fraser fir is delivered to the front door by my mailman. It's always a very small tree, because the nice lady in North Carolina understands that it is to go on a table-top so that my dogs can't reach it. (Okay, so this picture is of a fake tree. My fresh tree is still in a bucket of water in the garage.)

I always hang and fill stockings.
When my kids were young, their stockings were filled with unwrapped little gifts like Chapstick, toothbrushes and action figures.
I still fill stockings for my kids, but now they are stuffed with things like . . . well, Chapstick, toothbrushes and action figures.

I also exchange only stockings with my sisters, and frankly, it would be cheaper to buy a single gift.

I think Santa is cool.
When I was a kid, my Uncle Jack came to the house dressed as Santa, and my folks went through this whole ruse with him about reindeer on the roof. We didn't have a chimney; I'm not sure how he was supposed to have gotten in. But one year he gave me a doll. I think he started something, because I still love dolls.
These dolls were made by Terry Stone. She lives in Maryland and makes her dolls' heads, hands and feet from Super Sculpy and makes their posable bodies from cloth.She dresses her dolls in antique clothing and shoes when possible, and embellishes them with old toys. The result is fantastic! I feel like these dolls are old friends.I don't know if you could tell, but this elf is showing Santa a list of naughty children. I'm pretty sure I know a few of the names on this list! (Atticus is at the top of the list -- he grabbed Santa's list shortly after this picture was taken.)
The Santas only come out at Christmas, but the fairy stays out year-round, and she is in good company. My daughter-in-law gets a little "creeped-out" by the dolls perched here and there in my house. But they make me happy. It's good to see a smiling face everywhere you look. Seeing them scattered around for Christmas has become tradition, and I am pretty sure that this one will stick. I love to think of these folks smiling at my kids and grandkids when they can no longer hang out here.

Be sure to stop by and visit Jill to learn the traditions of other bloggers!