december traditions

i was thinking the other day about some of our traditions that we have for the month of december, and thought i'd write them down.

sushi + temple square lights // this tradition started in 2011, and actually wasn't a planned tradition. we went to dinner with the greens (and mara + jae were invited too, just couldn't come) at simply sushi and then hit up temple square to see the lights. then, in 2012 we decided to do it again. and thus -- our tradition was born. its been a fun one, as all our lives are super busy its hard to get together, especially in december! we sure loves these buddies of ours and look forward to this fun tradition.

the forgotten carols // this is another tradition that started in 2011 (the year of new traditions, apparently!). ever christmas season since vince and i got married, we always said we wanted to go see the forgotten carols. we knew the music (well, vince knew it more... but i knew it a little) but had never actually seen it. so, i surprised vince with tickets that year and that is all it took. it was a magical evening and we wanted to make sure this was a christmas tradition of ours. last year we managed to drag vince's family there with us too and it was so much fun (even if it was too cheesey for my brother in law haha!) we almost didn't get tickets this year due to bad timing + a lot of unexpected expenses. but, we made sure to snag them when we could. we see it next week and we are so excited!

christmas movies & shows // we have certain movies we have to watch during the christmas season. my favorite and must watch is Elf. vince's must is It's A Wonderful Life (we watched both the christmas we were dating too!). others include: while you were sleeping, home alone, white christmas, MOTAB christmas concerts (our favorite is the Brian Stokes Mitchell one!) and random cheesey movies on tv (vince loves those, haha)!

christmas letters // i don't even remember how long ago this one started (within the first year or two of me joing the oveson family) but its a favorite for sure. at the christmas eve party thrown by vince's family, which includes my mother in laws sister, and her three kids with their families, we used to draw names and do little small gifts. one year we decided to make it more personal, and instead of gifts we do a letter to the person whose name we drew. it has become such a special tradition, often filled with tears and laughter while being shared. it is awesome.

service gifts // vince and i started this one last year, and decided to keep it u p this year. last december was a really crazy and hectic month for us and we decided to keep our christmas gifts to each other really small. so we did one gift and one service gift to each other. the service gift was just something we promised to do for the other in the coming year for the other person.

christmas cards // this is a fun traditon that as a girl growing up, it was something i really wanted to do when i was married and had a family. we haven't done one every year (mostly the first few years we didn't send any out), but its something i try to get around to doing every year! i'll post ours from this year probably next week, once they've all been mailed out.

what are some of your favorite traditions for this time of year?!