Traditions...

One of the reasons I love the holiday season is carrying on traditions of our families. 

Especially since Daniel and I come from different backgrounds, we have enjoyed combining our traditions to create a magical experience for our kids.

Every Christmas Eve, we don our holiday apparel and gather for a day of fun!

The kids usually play all day together...

 While the guys watch sports and the ladies cook in the kitchen. I especially love when we bake and decorate sugar cookies to sit out for Santa!

 I remember doing this every year with my mom and sister, so it brings joy to my heart to have my littles right alongside us.

My little elves adore being in the kitchen, so as you can see...

little lady meant serious business :). I also love that we are sharing in these traditions with their cousins...

that we are creating memories and life long friends! Oh, the beauty in these precious hands! 

I look forward to the day where Max may possibly join us in rolling out some dough too and possibly catch him licking a spoon of icing! After all the cookies are cooled, then we let the little elves get to work on the most important part...

adding the yummy icing and sprinkles!

Mimi, Aunt Shaye, and I had just as much fun icing as the girls did...

they may not be professional, but they sure were tasty :). On Christmas Eve, our kids are allowed to open one present which is pajamas for Christmas morning!

I looked forward to this every year as a kid and get just as excited to share this with Kason, Max, and Zoe as well...

One of the Clayton family traditions is to read The Night Before Christmas. So after pj's were on, we gathered on the couch for the classic tale...

which actually turned in to a circus show!

It was hilarious to watch and I'm not even sure the book was finished...the kids couldn't sit still and ended up pestering each other...hahaha! A new tradition Shaye and I started with our kids was to sprinkle reindeer food together...

The kids were adorable and took this so serious...

Kason thought that if they sprinkled the food under the lights, the glitter would sparkle more for the reindeer to find their way.

After that, the kids picked out which cookies to set out for Santa...

They gathered them on a special plate and poured some milk...

Kason set it by the chimney...

along with their Santa sacks to be filled by the jolly old fella!

Daniel has started a new tradition also by making us his family's delicious homemade cinnamon rolls...

It is a lot of work, but oh so worth it on Christmas morning! The holiday season seems to come alive each year thanks to the addition of these Christmas cuties... 

who could hardly wait for Santa to arrive!

They fill our homes with joy and bring our families together with love as we share in holiday traditions that are being passed down through generations!