A Simple Christ-Centered Christmas Tradition

I LOVE TRADITIONS! And I love celebrating anything and everything. So, in my enthusiasm to scoop up anything fun and meaningful to incorporate into my family's lives around the holiday, I've picked up some burdensome traditions that had to be abandoned. (PJ's on Christmas Eve is a perfect example. That one just doesn't work for us. Not all of us NEED a new pair of PJ's every year. And if we don't NEED them, PJ's for 6 is so pricey just for the sake of of tradition.)

After a few rounds of such failures, I've learned to be a lot more choosy about what I happily announce will now be a yearly part of our celebrations. I try to steer clear of traditions that are wasteful of both resources and time. If it's not something I can pull off year after year, I may chose to not even give a tradition a shot.

I've learned that both time and money ebb and flow at our house, so I was pleased to begin a tradition this Christmas that is inexpensive, simple, takes little time to pull off AND to prepare, and is Christ-centered.

Like most parents, I've been hunting for ways to put more of Christ into Christmas. At some point, probably while reflecting on my own childhood THRILL at opening presents from Santa, I let go of expecting my kids would find reverence for the Savior on Christmas morning. But allowing children to BE children, as Christ himself exemplified so well, I thought if we put more of Christ into Christmas in all the days leading up to it, letting Santa have a morning wouldn't be terrible. (Honestly, it's pretty magical in it's own way.) And by focusing for the rest of the season on Christ, it would likely leave a better impression and be more meaningful than, for example, forcing the kids to sit still to listen to Luke 2 before gifts can be unwrapped.

So here's the tradition already!

I found a box with a lid I covered with wrapping paper. I wrapped the lid separately so it could just be removed and replaced without having to tear paper. (When I first thought of this tradition I began collecting boxes - mostly shoe boxes - and was hoping to assemble 24. Then I realized I would have to wrap all 24 boxes, and doing so year after year would not only be time consuming, but paper consuming. So I opted for ONE box we opened on the 24 days leading to Christmas.)

Anyway, each night before bed we turned off the rest of the lights and gathered around the Christmas tree. Whose ever turn it was, chose the Christmas song, which we would sing and then chose another family member to open the box. Inside was a picture of Christ. (We used the pictures from the Gospel Art Kit book sold at the LDS distribution centers.) When it was your turn, you chose which picture it would be the night before, and once the box was opened, you shared with the family the "gift" from Jesus Christ the picture represented. (For example, my newly baptized daughter chose a picture of the Savior being baptized, and talked about the gift of baptism. My older son chose a picture of the Last Supper and spoke of the gift of the sacrament.)

Whomever opened the box got to take their turn choosing the picture, song, and present-opener the next night. I encouraged the kids to chose the family member whom they saw exhibiting Christ-like behavior. I don't know that the kids caught on to this aspect of the tradition, but I wanted to encourage kind, patient, gentle behavior. So when a family member was chosen, I encouraged everyone to share how that person had acted like Christ that day.

This was definitely a tradition to repeat. It was simple, took little time, and added meaning to each day leading to Christmas. I especially liked that not only were we discussing Jesus daily, but the kids were sharing THEIR understanding of Him and, in theory, feeling encouraged to be more like Him too. I hope the lasting impression is that Christ IS the gift. His very life and the sacrifice of it blesses us SO much!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours! May the coming year bring sweet moments with your children and precious, quiet moments to feel of Christ's mercy and grace.

It's the MOST Wonderful Yams of the Year

Apologies for two recipe posts right in a row. And happy belated Thanksgiving, BTW! Thanksgiving generally means a few phone calls from in-law sibs, and my own sibs who can't get a hold of my mom, wanting "that yam recipe."

Now YOU are thinking, "Actually my family isn't so into yams or sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. If we serve them at all, it's out of traditional obligation." Actually, that is how most people felt who request I share this recipe with them. THIS recipe will change your mind and heart about yams. They are the most wonderful yams of the year - so good traditional obligations will melt away and you will hunt for excuses to whip them up and delight your family and friends with their yumminess!

Once again, so this recipe is an easy go-to for my family who never seems to write it down in any place worthy of keeping track of......   ;)

 Sweet Potato Casserole
(I know it's called sweet potato, and that is how my aunt, who first shared the recipe with my mom, makes it. So when SHE comes to Thanksgiving, we have BOTH. My preference, having tried both - though not in a blind taste test, which I love doing BTW - is to make this with yams. I think they are a bit more moist. Anywho....)

Scrub and bake for apx 1.5 hours at 400 3 BIG yams
(Put a sheet of tin foil on the oven rack beneath the rack with the yams on them. As they cook they will release their sugars which harden and blacken and the tin-foil makes for a fast, easy clean-up. You want to bake these 'til they are soft all the way through. When they cool, they will be reduced in size and the skins will easily slip off. I usually do this step a day before I make the casserole, and if I'm not using the oven, I just leave the yams in it 'til I'm ready to make the rest.)

After you have skinned the yams and placed them in a large bowl, blend in with an electric mixer:
1 cube of butter
2/3 c. milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. white sugar

Spread the yam mixture evenly into a 13x9 pan and then in a smaller bowl mix:

2 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour
1.5 c. walnuts
then cut in:
1.5 cubes of room temperature butter

Crumble this mixture on top of the yams and bake everything in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes, or until the yams are heated through and the topping is melting slightly and getting crusty along the edges. Serve warm.