Hello December, Hello Sammy

The first of December marked the beginning of holiday traditions in many house yesterday. Here we pulled out Sammy the Snowman (I named him years ago, he didn`t actually come with a name, but Sammy seemed fitting).

For the last six Decembers, Sammy has taken up residence in our entry hallway and marked off the days until Christmas. It has been our version on an advent calendar and I was happy to welcome him back yesterday. Though what I was even happier about was starting this tradition anew with Hudson. He was quite intrigued by this large toy of sorts and picked and poked and explored for a bit.

I took a quick moment to snap a pic of the two of them. H looks so small in comparison. I`m actually looking forward to taking a picture of the pair each December 1st to see how much H is growing. I know it won`t be long before he`s towering over Sammy.

What about you, do you have a treasured family tradition that runs all December long?

Perhaps you do the Elf on the Shelf, which my friend Jennifer explains on her blog. Basically, Santa sends an Elf to your house to keep watch over the kiddies, reporting back each day on whether they've been naughty or nice. The kids can talk to the Elf, but they can't touch him or play with him. The Elf appears in a new spot every day and the kids get to have some fun seeking him out. If you're following along with this tradition, check out Pinterest for a few new ideas on where Elf can appear next {such as riding in the barbie car, squeezing the tube of toothpaste, with spilled flour, and so on}. If you're interested in starting it in your family, I know Gingersnap downtown St. John's is carrying the Elf on the Shelf kit.

Or perhaps you do some version of an actual advent calender. I know we always had the traditional chocolate one at our house growing up and I loved getting to munch on a chocolate with my breakfast! I'm thinking I might do a fun twist on the advent calendar when Hudson gets a bit older. I love these ideas seen on Pinterest {btw, I heart Pinterest}:

Or maybe you do a December Daily album like Ali Edwards and so many others. I think it's an awesome idea, capturing those holiday stories in pictures and words each year. You can look back to see how traditions hold strong and change and see what becomes new tradition over time. I've not yet found myself inclined to do this as the month is already busy enough around here, but maybe some day. If you're keen on this idea, be sure to check out this Flickr group for tons of inspiration.

Whatever your December traditions, I hope they got off to an awesome start yesterday and carry strong all month long.