I love traditions and I'm pretty sure that most of you do as well. Around here, traditions do not have to be grand or complicated to be meaningful. For years now, my daughters and I have enjoyed a very simple Christmas tradition.....Girls night out!
This is one of my very favorite things that we always make space for. It's our time...No rushing and no specific schedule. Just spending time together and enjoying the joy of the Christmas season.
This year was extra special. My two granddaughters joined us for the first time and I am pretty sure they will be joining us each year to come. It is so nice to watch traditions stretch across generations and I hope that this will be something that they all will continue doing.
We started our evening at an Italian restaurant...(the food was amazing) and thank goodness, our waiter was so nice and very kind in making sure we had everything we needed at the table.
Our gift exchange looked a little different this year, and it may just be my new favorite way to do gifts. We tried a "My Favorite Things" exchange. Each of us picked two simple, inexpensive items we truly love. Then we bought five of each item...one for ourselves and one for everyone else. By the end of the night, each of us went home with ten little gifts.
It was so much fun just hearing why each of us loved what we chose to bring. Makeup remover, trinket boxes, cozy socks, candles, lip gloss, body lotion, face masks, very neat sandwich bags (yes, even those!), and a spray deodorant for hair. Nothing fancy about any of these things, just thoughtful little things that made us smile.
We all love antique shopping and both of my granddaughters are especially fond of antique jewelry jars. Over the past several months, I had been quietly working on one for each of them. When I gave them their very own jars (that evening) both of them were very surprised. They could not wait, so right there at the table, they began digging through the treasures, laughing and showing us all their unique finds. I only wish I could have bottled up their happiness and save it forever.
This is the beauty of tradition. It's not about perfection or price tags. It's about shared experiences and moments that quietly become part of our family story.
I can not wait for next years "Girls night out!"
Shug..
Now that sounds like a fun tradition! I don’t recall seeing your other granddaughter before. She’s beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a lot of good food, some laughs and fun little gifts. Merry Christmas, Shug
Thank you Debby... Tori is my oldest granddaughter..and is so full of life...much like ME.. We had a really great time doing the gift exchange this year..
DeleteHi, I love this tradition. I also do not recall seeing your other granddaughter. Does she live close by?
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas my friend.
Love, Carla
Hi Carla. Tori has just recently moved back toward our area. She had a very good job in the Dallas area, but is now going to school and working toward being a dental Hygienist. She has such a sweet personality and is so much like ME.
DeleteSuch precious memories. I love your tradition and the Little Gifts idea. Its not about Things its about the Feels from the presents.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure your Girls Night Out will continue for many more years.
Shug YOU have such a beautiful family.
Merry Christmas
Sue
So true Sue!! Ha...I made a small rhyme. I hope my girls will carry this on with their kids.. Thank you for the compliments.
DeleteI just read the update on Sam. So glad for the good PET report. Prayers continuing for the lungs and that no cancer will be found in the tests next week. Praying that there will be NO trips to ER either.
DeleteLove you
Sue
What a sweet tradition and a wonderful gift exchange idea!
ReplyDeleteThis was so much fun. Nothing big, nothing expensive...just small things. we were so surprised that none of us brought the same things.
DeleteOh what a lovely tradition! That looks like a very happy time together...and making such beautiful memories! I can imagine how your table must've sounded...like joyful ringing bells of laughter. You are truly blessed!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe definitely were getting a lot of attention from those sitting near by. I actually think they were enjoying seeing what all each of us brought.
DeleteA tradition stretching into the next generation - what could be better?
ReplyDeleteI agree... I hope my granddaughters will carry this on.
DeleteYour Girls' Night Out and the gifting idea -- wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbara. My girls are so good at coming up with great ideas for us all to share. We are all very close and I love that they include me in everything.
DeleteDear Shug, what a lovely time you had at an Italian restaurant 😀 😊 Beautiful photos, dear friend. Thank you so much for sharing, and Merry Christmas 🎄 to you and your lovely family.
ReplyDeleteSame to you Linda..Hope your Christmas Season is lovely.
DeleteHow lovely, and how lucky you are to have the entire family close enough to do things like this.
ReplyDeleteI love having our family so close. We have 3 grandsons who live a distance away, but most of us live very close to each other.
DeleteWhat a lovely tradition! Thanks for sharing...and I hope all went well with the PET scan for your hubby. I'm way behind in blogging but trying to catch up a bit. Hope to blog again next week - until happiest Christmas wishes!
ReplyDeletePET scan revealed a much needed answer to a big issue Sam has been having. I'm updating the info on my side bar. Thank you for your prayers.
DeleteThat is a very, very fun way to share things we love with people we love. Not heard of that before and I just love it. It's such a great way to share the fun of things we love to others. Great pictures too!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ivy. We had such a wonderful time doing this little gift giving. One of my daughters had read about it and it sounded fun, so we did it...
DeleteWhat I love about that is the willingness of adventure to try something new. It's just a great, great thing. IMO. Well done you guys.
DeleteThat's a great tradition and such a fun gift idea. I'm going to remember this one for next year. You have a beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great tradition and I like the way you all enchanted gifts.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy for you all! ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh Shug, that was so wonderful that you got to go out with your daughters and granddaughters. What a special night that was. Looks like you truly enjoyed your gifties, too. Oh, that was a happy occasion for sure! Susan
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful tradition. I am so glad that you have this and that it is expanding. What a great idea. You have a wonderful family there!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a splendid idea! The expression on your face is Hallmark-worthy!
ReplyDeleteGod willing, I want to do this next year with my DIL and her girls.
What a beautiful tradition, Shug, and how wonderful it is that your grand-girls are old enough now to join in the fun and celebration of it all. All the photos you posted truly exude the sheer joy that Christmas brings to the world. May God bless your amazing family for many Christmases to come!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your good news re the pet scan results, you have much to celebrate. As a cancer survivor, I can say that kind of relief is shared by all of us that have had this illness and gotten good news when tests come back negative.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun. I like the idea of the gifts too. A my favorite things exchange sounds awesome. I should keep this in mind for next year and maybe I can get my daughter and daughter in law to do this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely time you all had. It is good to meet up (often) as a family. God bless you all. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI read the update and this great news, Prayers he will be fine until he can see the Lung Doctor. I know you enjoyed your Girls night out and so did the Girls after getting this good news. all 5 of you are beautiful and I wish I could talk to your waiter and see what he would have to say about the merriment. So glad you could continue your tradition this year. your holidays are certainly happy and I wish all of you Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely tradition. I've only got one daughter, maybe she and I will do a nice something just the two of us. We used to love to visit yarn shops together, but we both have an abundance of yarn and all the shops in our area closed, so that's out.
ReplyDeleteHello, my friend! I love everything about this! The favorite things is so fun! It was so very special that you are now three generations celebrating together. And, you, my friend, are stunning!
ReplyDeleteThat's great news about Sam's PET scan. I hope they can help his lungs and breathing. Love, hugs, and prayers. ❤️
ReplyDeleteShug, great update on Sam! I pray the fluid on his lung will disappear, in Jesus' name! I love this tradition and the gifts! What great ideas. And thank you for the beautiful Christmas card. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and special tradition, Shug. I like the idea of buying little things that don't cost much. We all need those little things in our everyday lives. And the jewelry jars are pretty. The girls look happy receiving them. What a memorable night, and even better that you had a nice Italian dinner. There's nothing like it. Me and you both love those trinket boxes. They are cute as ever.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
That is good news about Sam. Thank you God. And I hope he does well on Tuesday getting his lung drained.
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