Merry Christmas!

First Married Christmas! 

We got a very cute Charlie Brown 3ft tree a few days before Christmas with all the reject trees and covered  it with all the sparkly stuff we had.  The fun of presents have always been all about the wrapping and unwrapping.  The actual gift part has never been very consequential...mostly because as a sibling, cousin, and roommate tradition, the gifts are typically things we're returning to each other.  

"My headphones!" 

"No, remember you lost those. I got you some new ones just like them."

"I remembering I lent them to you..." 

Getting your stuff back is pretty big deal and it typically happens only on holidays and birthdays.  

Being in a loving marital relationship was a different experience come present time.  He just gave me thoughtful, useful, and fun things.  How strange. 

A special shout out goes to my sister, Stacey, who made sure I didn't go without my family traditions and gave me: my pie pan, a book of awkward photos and one expired coupon. 

("It was still valid when I wrapped it!") 

Crossing traditions.  This was something I was both worried and excited about as I got married.  Adam accepted the open stockings at the end of gifts and bake a bunch of chocolates from my list of fun and we took on an adaptation of his family's ornament tradition.  Each year he would get a special ornament that showed a highlight of the year.  To counter the lameness of all the ornaments that we owned being from his life we decided to start our own.  This year for our first Christmas we made the Christmas star.  We put on some accent chain on it as well as the broach from my wedding dress.