"It's Christmas in our OWN house!"

Hard as we try to give Charlie an ideal childhood, I have to admit that Jason and I haven't really hit the mark when it comes to "the magic of Christmas". 

You see, we haven't had to.  Each year we go back to Kansas City to a beautifully decorated house, gorgeous tree, stacks of presents, piles of sweets and a full schedule of Christmas fun with family, and despite the fact that we're never "home" on Christmas morning, I can't imagine ever doing anything different.

The problem is...we really don't do much here in SC.  Yes, we put up a tree and stockings, and most years garland in the kitchen (though it was dropped this year after it sat in boxes in the study for two weeks), but we haven't done a very good job of creating Christmas traditions for Charlie (and us) here at home to get in the Spirit -- which may be why Jason and I always feel like Christmas sneeks up on us and is over before it's started.

This year, though, we've made a concentrated effort to change, so 2012 is the official launch of SC Christmas traditions -- despite the fact that the three of us were only together in Summerville for a sum total of 13 days in December.

Tradition 1: The Christmas Market at Marion Square (Jason and I used to wander the square pre-Charlie, but it fell by the wayside.  We had a wonderful time with him this year from our special donut breakfast to buying presents for the dogs, sharing crepes on the square and of course, sliding to our hearts' content.

Tradition 2: Toys for Tots - Again, a pre-Charlie tradition that he was big enough for this year, though we did cancel the usual "friendly" competition and task Charlie with picking out "cool toys" -- plus we found a Big Lots that shared a parking lot with a Toys drop-off.  Instead of loading the presents in the car, Charlie got to ride the cart "trash-man style" to Publix! 

Tradition 3: The James Island County Lights -  You guessed it, we did this one our first year in SC, too, and haven't been back since -- but this time we stopped for the s'mores and carousel between loops (one trip around just wasn't enough) and hopefully next year we'll wise up and buy our train tickets early enough to get a ride!

Tradition 4:  All Christmas music, all the time!  - My all time favorite tape (yes, tape!) is the original A Very Special Christmas (circa 1986 or so) and with the magic of iPod we can have it in the house, in the car, in the backyard, anywhere!  Nothing says holiday spirit like Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis, though Madonna's Santa Baby seems to be Charlie's favorite.

Tradition 5: Presents Under the Tree! - Don't judge, but I'm a notorious slacker when it comes to this.  Typically, I slap some paper on Charlie's gifts New Year's Eve in preparation for our family exchange on New Year's morning.  Jason and I don't really do gifts for each other, so our tree is generally quite bare.  I learned my lesson on this one yesterday, though.  Charlie and I wrapped his present for Daddy yesterday afternoon,  and when he'd found the perfect spot for it under the tree, he turned to me and said, "Mama!  It's Christmas in our own house!"  And truthfully, how do I expect him to understand the grace and mercy of the most precious gift, if he doesn't have the expectation and wonder of lesser gifts?  I better get to wrapping...

Now, lest anyone fear that we have completely forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, be assured that our nightly Nativity Advent Calendar is still the highlight of  each evening, and we are spending a lot of time discussing the wonder of the Gabriel's visit, the amazement of the shepherds, the faithfulness of Joseph, the honor for Mary and the miracle of Baby Jesus -- but what better way to help Charlie see the glorious gift of our Savior's birth than to create an atmosphere of love, joy, enchantment and anticipation leading up to Christmas itself?