Traditions!

Just a few of the Chamblee family holiday traditions... some are just getting started and others Lane and I have done since we started dating.

Adopting an angel from the Angel Tree. This year we adopted an older boy and a girl, since they seem to be the last ones to be adopted. It was the best guilt free shopping I've had all year. I'm looking forward to Payton understanding why we're giving back to others and getting excited about picking out gifts for her angel.

Driving around looking at Christmas lights. We took P last night and it was so magical. We were all in our pjs and loaded up the truck with Scout and hot toddies (see recipe below). She really loves colored lights (much to my dismay...I'm a straight, white light kind of girl) and kept saying "aaaaah" and "oooooo". And even a few "pretty"s. Lane and I kept saying how we wonder what in the world is going through her head!

Christmas Eve service. I love going to church on Christmas Eve! The singing, the sermon, the sights, the smells, the celebration of Jesus' birth!

Santa. I can. not. wait. for tomorrow night!! I'm making a huge pot of hot toddies when we get home from church and Christmas with my family. It will make the house smell delicious and help us get into the Santa spirit!! Payton will go to sleep in her monogrammed Christmas jammies and Lane and I will start putting together her big present. It will be great to spend time just the 2 of us! I can't wait to see the look on P's face on Christmas morning!

Home. This is one of the most important traditions we're starting. Lane and I agreed that Payton will wake up in her house on Christmas morning. Santa will come here and we will celebrate in our own home. When she's older, we might have Christmas on a ski vacation, but that will only be because that's her big present from us.

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Hot Toddy recipe
simmer 1 1/2 quarts apple juice and 1 1/2 quarts cranberry juice with 4 Cinnamon Sticks and a cheese cloth sachet or tea ball of 2 tsp whole allspice and 1 tsp cloves. Add Apple Pie liquor (or dark rum) to taste.