A Brand-New Family Tradition

With the holiday season in full-swing, Deric & I have been brainstorming traditions that we want to start in our little family. We've already got a few traditions from our childhoods that we're going to incorporate, but we also want to start some new ones just for us. For example, Deric's family always read the Christmas story from Luke before opening any presents on Christmas morning. My parents always gave my sisters and me pajamas on Christmas Eve that were sometimes almost always matching.. Both of our families eat a big breakfast before presents too.

This is Sarah (my younger sister) & me, Christmas 2008. Also the year Mom & Dad gave me the best Christmas gift ever-- my wisdom teeth out two days before Christmas, hence the swelling on the left side of my face. Fyi, that swelling got much worse before it got better :)

As far as new traditions, we've started one so far: a few nights after Thanksgiving, we baked gingerbread cookies in Christmas shapes, then ate them as we watched Elf. Deric quickly became the master of the cookie cutters; I was resigned to moving the cookies from countertop to cookie sheet.

Three full cookie sheets later, we were both pretty tired of cookie-cutting but we had a little ball of dough left. This is our attempt at making a 3D gingerbread snowman (which, as you're probably already thinking, looks more like a pile of you-know-what). Ah well, still delicious.

The recipe made more than enough cookies for two people, but instead of sharing them in true Christmas spirit, Deric and I have been pigging out on cookies almost every night...

In an effort to redeem myself, I do plan on making more gingerbread cookies here in a few weeks, and I will be sharing that batch :) I'll probably be sick of gingerbread by then anyways!