a merry Texans Christmas: holiday traditions
This post is sponsored by the NFL Shop, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Living in Houson, we’ve long been Texans fans in this household. JJ Watt is pretty much a superhero around here, and I don’t mind because he happens to be a great role model for the boys. And a self-proclaimed mama’s boy (take note, Bear and Boone). I decided it would be a fun way to mix up our Christmas pajamas this year and support our favorite NFL team with Texans pajamas from FOCO. It was a huge hit with the boys and we watched the game last Saturday in (comfy) style.
Zach’s pajamas | My pajamas | Bear’s pajamas | Boone’s pajamas
photos by Ban Avenue Photography
In the spirit of the season, I wanted to share a few of our favorite holiday traditions. My parents have always been big on traditions and I loved it growing up; I still love so many that they continue to share now as grandparents. Over the past 7 years with Bear, we’ve acquired some of our own, and adopted favorites from our parents, that help make this season magical. A few of our favorites:
1. Look at Christmas lights & drink hot cocoa- I’ve always loved looking at Christmas lights and our neighborhood has some phenomenal ones. One house especially we could sit in front of for hours; they have their lights synced with a radio station and have themed shows like Star Wars and the Grinch.
2. Wear pajamas all day on Christmas Eve- We always get new pajamas on Christmas Eve and spend the day baking and watching Christmas movies in them.
3. Have a baking day & deliver treats to neighbors- Also a Christmas Eve tradition, we bake lots of sweet treats in our jammies before loading the boys up in the wagon and delivering them to neighbors.
4. Adopt angels from the Salvation Army Angel Tree- My parents did this with us and we’ve always taken Bear to the mall to pick out angels from the Angel Tree. From an early age, we want both boys to realize that the season is about giving.
5. Decorate a gingerbread house- We cheat on this a little and buy a pre-made kit, but the fun is decorating anyway! Bear loves doing this and especially this year. He build his house for his Elf on the Shelf, Johnny, and it was a big hit when Johnny was in it the next morning.
6. Make handprint ornaments- We started doing this when Bear was a baby to give as gifts and just kept doing it every year. It’s bittersweet seeing all the sweet little hands on our tree every year. I know at some point in the next few years, Bear’s hand will outgrow all the molds so until then, we continue the tradition.
7. Go to Santa’s Wonderland- If you live within a 3 hour radius of College Station, Texas, I highly recommend the drive to Santa’s Wonderland. The boys love it and the hayride is one of my favorite light displays.
8. Buy a new Christmas book- We almost always have a book exchange party this time of year, but we also enjoy buying each boy a new Christmas book at the start of the season. This is something Bear looks forward to every year and it’s fun to watch the collection grow.
9. Go to a candlelight service or Christmas program- This year it was Boone’s school program at church, and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever. We also love going to candlelight services on Christmas Eve.
10. Sing Christmas carols around the fire- This is totally my parents’ tradition that I’m stealing since this takes place at their house every Christmas, but it’s one of my favorites. We’ve done this every year for as long as I can remember and it’s always a special night.
What are some of your favorite family traditions during the holidays? Do you do matching pajamas too? I’d love to hear! And I hope you all have a very merry Christmas with those you love.
xo, Britt