Well, here we are at 12/12/12. 13 days away from Christmas. Are you ready?? Who is, right?? My wife and I go “Black Friday” shopping every year and most of the things we buy are strictly for Christmas gifts. One of the things we always get is pajamas for the kids. Every year, we have the kids wear their pajamas to go to sleep on Christmas Eve night so they can wake up on Christmas morning and open presents in them. Why do we do this? Two reasons.

First of all, we’re big on taking pictures and it just wouldn’t be right to take a bunch of pictures of the kids opening presents in their “skimpies”. But most importantly, we do it because it is one of our traditions.

Tradition (noun) – an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom).

Did you have any traditions growing up as a kid? Chances are, if you’re an adult now, you’ve stopped doing them. And, chances are, if you have kids, you probably want your kids and yourself to have traditions of your own. Do it! Make some up!

Another tradition we have is our “Elf on the Shelf”. Our elf’s name is Buddy (the kids named him). And he shows up every year, the day after Thanksgiving. What’s funny is that it doesn’t matter where we are. This year, we visited Ami’s family in Mississippi for Thanksgiving. Sure enough, Friday morning, there he was, sitting on top of the entertainment center. The kids get excited about seeing where he’ll show up in the morning. This morning, he was tangled up in our blinds’ cords, but he he also been found on top of a toy rocking horse, playing with a nutcracker. on the Christmas tree, hanging upside down from the light fixture, etc.

What’s funny is that the kids remember him every year. They talk to him, telling him what they want for Christmas, so in turn, Buddy can tell Santa. Buddy also helps us as parents to keep the kids in check. You see, Buddy knows when you’re being naughty or nice and since he goes to the north Pole to report to Santa every night, the kids want to be on their best behavior.

Traditions are fun when you have a family and I encourage you to create or borrow some traditions for your family as well. merry Christmas!