"That I can tell you in one word:"

"Tradition!"

One of the reasons I love Christmastime so much is that it is so full of traditions.

Every year, I can expect the same wonderful things to happen and share in them with those I love.

My favorite traditions all take place on Christmas Eve.

I make reuben loaves to go along with our traditional potato soup for a lovely dinner.

We play games, we chat, we eat way too much good food.

And then before the littlest ones head to bed, the best Christmas stuff happens. The whole motley crew gathers into one room and either Bret or my dad (depending on who we're spending Christmas with) reads the Christmas story from the scriptures. We sing Christmas hymns and carols throughout the reading, too. I love singing together:)

I particularly love doing this with Bret's family. As there are more kids, Bret has devised ways to keep their interest longer. We wrap small gifts and each child gets to unwrap a present and read part of the story to the rest of us. Then Bret finds a story that illustrates in a simple way what Jesus has done for each of us and reads that, too. For example, one year this was the story.

We usually end up singing any and all other Christmas songs we can think of before the youngsters head to bed.

It's a beautiful night! One of my favorites in the entire year.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?