A Family Christmas Tradition
When our children were younger, we felt a lot of pressure from extended family to “share” them at Christmas time. For a while they were the only children (particularly on Farmboy’s side of the family) and everyone wanted to spend Christmas with them. Being the people pleaser that I am, I always tried to accommodate, even though at times it went against what we’d have really liked to have done as a family. Not because we don’t enjoy spending Christmas with extended family but because we rarely got the chance to spend some quiet moments with our young children on Christmas Day.
So we began our own Christmas tradition of sharing a hot meal together at some point in the week leading up to Christmas. I’m not a big fan of cooking a hot meal on Christmas day. I prefer to prepare the meal so that there isn’t as much work to do on the actual day. But we all enjoy a hot turkey dinner (well, one of those rolled turkey breasts you buy in the freezer section) so it’s become somewhat of a tradition to do this as an immediate family tradition on a day other than Christmas Day.
It’s a simple affair. The way I’d personally LOVE Christmas Day to be. A $2 pack of bon bons, a Christmas tablecloth, a $1 bottle of Ginger Beer and a Sarah Lee cheesecake with cream for dessert.
Lleyton was great this year and really got into setting the table and serving the food to each person. He even followed it up with clearing plates from the table!!!!
If it’s a year where we’re travelling for Christmas, we’ll sometimes do our family gift on this occasion as well, particularly if it’s something that won’t travel well (or won’t fit).
While we normally hold this Family Christmas Dinner Christmas Eve or in the last few days before Christmas, this year we decided to do it early.
We splashed out a little (okay a lot) this year on a family present and we can’t take it with us when we go away at Christmas and we’re going to be away intermittently through January so we decided to hold our Traditional family dinner early and give the kids the gift early as well. That way they can play with it this week and early next week. It seemed cruel to give it to them and then they not be able to use it.
So, what is “IT”?
Even though we bought about the cheapest we could find (and yes, a chinese import I’m afraid), this was still more than we usually spend on our entire Christmas budget.
What the kids don’t know (yet) is that we have an ulterior motive. This will enable them to help out with the sheep work around the farm. Checking troughs and moving sheep around. 
They’re pretty stoked with it! 
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COOL!!!
I would’ve been stoked as a kid. Mind you, I would’ve been stoked to help with the sheep on it…. for about a week
I was lucky enough to have a motorbike as a kid (we lived on a bush block) - that was heaps of fun! I only ever rode a 4-wheeler once, but loved the experience.
(And love the secret motive - I just hope your kids don’t read your blog
)
That sounds like a really lovely Christmas tradition.
And cool gift ; )
woweeeee! I want one! But can tell it will be more use areound your place than mine!
LOL
Oh wow! What a fantastic gift! Where do you get these great ideas?
My kids would KILL for one of those. Awesome present.
Hey! You can claim it as a tax deduction!
Oh wow, that would be soooooo fun for them. I think your kids are very lucky to grow up where and how they do.
I love the idea of a simple family celebration. One tradition I want to start for just me and Peter is a nice Christmas breakfast.
LOL @ Kelley - that was my first thought.
We do a similar thing with the immediate family dinner. It’s a lovely tradition.
And what a great present - not just the bike but the ability to help out. Wonderful *evil grin*
Awesome present for the kids. Brilliant idea from Kelley, gotta love a gift you can claim on tax.
I love the idea of a private family party before the chaos starts.