Are The Holidays Really Over?

Winter break ends today, the kids go back to school in the morning. Christmas was over a week ago, New Year's Eve was four days ago, but I am not ready to put away the lights and sparkling ornaments. The cookies are stale and need to be thrown out.

Luckily, my mother has created a family tradition of not taking down the tree until after her mother's birthday on January 6th, Little Christmas. It has also helped to marry Fred. He is of Hispanic origin and Santa didn't come to his house when he was little. The "Three Kings" brought the toys to the children. So when it came time for us to have our kids, we need to blend cultures.

Our Christmas does not end until the morning of January 6th. The kids put their shoes by the front door (only one pair, Rocky has tried putting more than one pair a few years ago) the night of January 5th. The kings leave a toy on top of the shoes and are off. It has always been exciting to see their faces on that morning, just as it is exciting on Christmas morning.

I guess it is our way of keeping Christ in Christmas, remembering that Jesus received his gifts from the kings. The tree and decorations stay up until the 6th, so if you still need to extend the holidays, stop by Gemmie & Fred's, they will be up through the 7th.