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| |    Christmas Traditions: Making Merry as a Family by Susan E. Davis reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. Christmas is a time when the whole world seems to celebrate, from the carolers at the mall to the town's annual tree-lighting ceremony, from the colored lights on the houses to the barrage of holiday tunes on the radio. As you build your own family's special set of traditions, be sure to read the local paper to learn about community activities that might appeal to you and yours. Here are some other ideas to get you started: • Make it an annual ritual to pile the family in the car one evening each December and take in the town's Christmas lights. Bring along travel mugs full of hot chocolate and pop in a tape or CD of holiday music. • Serve a special breakfast on Christmas morning, maybe eggs and sausage and fruitcake, or waffles with strawberries, whipped cream, and sprigs of mint. • Visit local historic homes that feature old-fashioned Christmas displays or celebrations. Talk about the ways that Christmas has stayed the same, or changed, over the years. • Go on a sleigh ride. You'll find them offered everywhere from local farms to golf courses. And if you don't live in a snowy clime, you might be able to take a horse-drawn hansom ride around town to view the holiday sights in style. • Help your children make cards for family and close friends. Or pose the kids in front of the fireplace or on the porch and take a picture to include in your store-bought cards. You can photograph them in the same spot every year to create a heartwarming and revealing record of their ages and stages. • Start a collection of Christmas ornaments for each child. Buy a new one every year and present them with their own set when they're grown. Try to find ornaments that symbolize a special event that happened that year, a teddy bear for your plush-toy-toting two-year-old, for instance, or a ballerina for the year your daughter gets her first pair of toe shoes. • Set up a nativity scene in your home or visit the one in your local church to remind the kids that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, even if they're the ones getting all the presents. • Gather family and friends and go caroling. • Go to the store and let the children each pick out a toy for a disadvantaged boy or girl their own age. Have the children contribute them to one of the town's toy drives (many fire and police departments, schools, churches, and businesses sponsor them). Or help each child to pick out an appropriate present for an elderly person and bring them to a nursing home. • Buy a set of Christmas cookie cutters and bake up a batch of cookies. Give the kids a free hand with decorating, and encourage them to get more and more creative as their artistic and culinary skills evolve. • Keep a holiday journal and record some of the fun or profound things that happened to your family during Christmastime. Include special outings, the names of visitors, favorite presents, and amusing things your children said or did. • Videotape your children building a snowman, acting in the school's Christmas pageant, decorating a gingerbread house, or opening their presents. Send a copy of the tape to far-away grandparents or other absent family members to let them share some of your holiday glow.
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