Celebrating Christmas in Virginia

Christmas in Virginia was a first for our family. In years past we have celebrated Christmas in Utah with my family but with being nearly 8 months pregnant, we decided that it was time for the Riggs family to set some of our own traditions and try Christmas at home.

I gained a new appreciation for the time and energy my mom puts into decorating her home for the holidays each year. It is wonderful to walk into a home and feel the welcoming spirit of Christmas as well as the cozy comfort that seems to generate from the decorations saved especially for this time of year.

I set out to create that sort of feeling in our home and with the help of my friend, Gety I felt satisfied with the results. The decorating was a far cry from anything you'd find in a Better Homes and Garden magazine, but we achieved the desired effect that made our home feel welcoming and festive. Next year I know to start looking early for decorating ideas.

Figuring out our holiday traditions is still a work in progress. Originally I thought I might do an advent calendar and a little holiday activity each day with the kids, but I soon realized I was going to need to be more organized and have more time before those efforts would work out. Instead we did a 12 days of Christmas paper chain with an activity written for each day. Some of those activities included making Christmas cards for our grandparents, decorating Christmas cookies, going to see Christmas lights, reading Christmas stories, delivering Christmas goodies to neighbors etc. The kids enjoyed being involved and counting down the days until Christmas. I think this may be a tradition we'll keep.

Another thing we did that I hope to make a tradition was to order a whole stack of Christmas books from the library. We enjoyed reading these wonderful books together throughout the month of December especially as we could talk about what Christmas means to different people throughout the world.

This year I spent a couple of days in the kitchen making fudge, ricotta cheese cookies and rocky road popcorn to give out as gifts to friends and neighbors. I try to put together a little package each year for the members of the bishopric and their wives as a little thank you for all the service and support they provide to our family and our ward.

Gety's nieces helped the kids and I decorate our Christmas tree. We decorated with red bows, homemade cinamon and applesauce gingerbread men, gold stars and olive wood ornaments depicting the Nativity scene that I had purchased while living in Jerusalem sixteen years ago. The cinamon ornaments made the downstairs smell frangrant and festive.




Maxwell's school put on a little Christmas program where each class had an opportunity to perform a couple of songs. Max's class sang "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Feliz Navidad." It's nice going to a Christian school where you can talk about the Christmas story and sing traditional Christmas songs without anyone putting up a fuss.

Don't ask me why Max is the only one not wearing his reindeer headband.



While they were waiting in their seats for their turn to perform, I noticed Max's teacher had to give him "the look" a couple of times. Any guesses as to why?



This is such fun age and Herb and I enjoyed watching Max and his classmates perform.


Our ward activities committee hosted a wonderful Christmas dinner party at the church. It was decorated beautifully and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of ham, various salads, breads, potatoes and vegetables. For dessert the committee put together a hot chocolate bar with everything from whip cream and marshmallows to mint thins and Oreos. I thought it was a fabulous idea and so, apparently, did Lincoln. He couldn't pull himself away from the hot cocoa bar. Some friends from our ward took the two photos below after repeatedly warning Lincoln not to put his hands in the candy. What can I say, he's got his mother's sweet tooth.




The highlight of the evening for all the kids was the appearance of Mr. and Mrs. Claus. We have a fabulous couple in our ward who have played the parts of Santa and Mrs. Clause the past couple of years. They are great with the kids and are very convincing in their roles.



Eden doing a double take of Mrs. Claus.



Eden, how exactly do you feel about Santa?



This year with all the expenses we scaled down on our Christmas cards, mostly sending them to family members and a short list of friends that are far away. I intended to send out an email card with a letter and an update of the family, but alas I never got around to it. The photo below was the photo that appeared on our Christmas cards this year. It only took about 20 different shots to finally get one worthy of the Christmas card. Eden just cracks me up!


Making a gingerbread house out of graham crakers was one our Christmas count down activities. It proved to be a lot harder than it looks and next year I am definately going to have to consult an expert. At least we had fun and got plenty of sugar in our systems!