Everyone has their own traditions for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For Christmas Eve mine are having the fireplace lit, the tree lights on and preparations ready for the big day. There are many special ways to make Christmas Eve and Christmas Day a time to be remembered by your family even if you don’t have fresh snow falling outside your window. There are numerous things you can do to get the family in a holiday mood even if you have a scrooge living in your house like me. There are simple things you can do to even get scrooge in the spirit of Christmas.

Put on some Christmas music to create the atmosphere of Christmas Eve. Light some candles and place around the room. This always goes over big with any guests that are dropping in. Have the eggnog ready and enjoy. Sometimes you can bribe the scrooge with something added to the eggnog, use this technique at your own discretion.

When I was young we always went to church on Christmas Eve it gives you the true meaning of Christmas. I don’t do that anymore with just my husband and I at home but the memories of years gone by still lives. I always feel as if there is something missing when I don’t go to church and there is something missing, it’s tradition.

We always had soup cooked for Christmas Eve night. It was not only prepared for us but for family and friends who were a little hungry as they dropped in for a visit. For whatever reason, the pot was empty at the end of the night. Some people have ham or chicken, while others would just have a light snack prepared, not wanting to overdo the eating due to the fact of a big dinner on Christmas Day but at our house it was always soup.

During the afternoon of Christmas Eve we would deliver any gifts we had for friends and family. This was the best part for me as I’m sure it is for many of us. Christmas and giving goes hand in hand and it really lets the spirit hit home. This is what Christmas is all about. I remember as a child we didn’t have very much but there were families with a lot less and my mother would pack up a grocery package and have us drop it on their doorstep to insure they would have a meal for Christmas dinner.

Today many people spend Christmas Day helping to feed the homeless. This is a wonderful way to give back to a community. There is a satisfaction in this like no other. It is almost as good as delivering the packages that mom use to give us when we were children. This will bring the spirit of Christmas to your heart like no other part of Christmas will.

Everyone has their own Christmas traditions and I’m sure new families will be busy planning theirs but if you can squeeze in the spirit of giving during the holidays then you will surely have a very Merry Christmas.