Christmas Season begins ... are you ready?

I still get amazed every week by the number of women who come out for Coffee Break and Mom to Mom and every week we keep getting new people attending.     Its such an amazing thing to see you all talking and sharing and laughing together. The fellowship hall looked so Christmassy this week and the food table was laden with yummy food that got us all in the Christmas mood, I think.  Thank you to the group who set up and the group who did such a lovely opening yesterday.  In two weeks we will be having the coffee break Christmas Party and I hope you all will come  out to celebrate and have fun together.  We would  also like to encourage you to bring an item for the food bank as a way for us to share with others in the community.

 Christmas is just around the corner and the busyness of the season has started for many of us, I'm sure.  I'm a week late but I did put up my advent table arrangement, and the dead mums on the porch have finally been replaced with some winter greenery that looks more appropriate for the season.  I'm still working on the wreath for the front door  and the outside lights should go up this weekend. Hopefully we will get out in the next week to cut down a tree that doesn't look like our annual Charlie Brown tree :)   I must say though, that I love Christmas, I love the smell of evergreens in my house, the crackle of the fire and the twinkling of the lights reflecting in the snow.
 Our tradition is to have St. Nicholas with my husbands family somewhere around Dec 5th , traditionally St. Nicholas' (the Spanish Bishop's) birthday .  Its a Dutch tradition as they remember the Bishop that came to give gifts on his birthday many years ago.   Now ' St Nick' gives each of us our  gifts,  with a personal poem to either roast or toast the person.  Its a lot of fun, but as the kids say the most fun is just being with family.
 For us then, Christmas day is a much quieter affair.  We would just pick names and buy a small gift for each other but mostly its a day to celebrate Christ's birth.  I'm glad I married into a family where this tradition has continued.  It makes it so much easier to remember the real reason for celebrating on Dec 25th. Last year, the girls decided  that instead of buying each other gifts they would pool their money and buy as many goats as  they could for the third world.  They really enjoyed checking out all the different charities' catalogues for the best price on goats to get the biggest bang for their money :)  I know that's become a real fad now, to give goats, but I was pleasantly surprised at how meaningful it really was for all of us, including of course those who receive the goats.
So what is your tradition?  Do you have time to stop and contemplate the reason for the celebration on Dec 25th amongst all the busyness (and fun too) of getting ready for the season?  I'd love to hear what you have found very meaningful and how you celebrate with your family in a special way. Just click on the comment button below and share your story.