tradition [tra-di-TION]

it is our first christmas with baby boy & we have been talking about the things we can do this year that will continue on as our own family traditions. i embrace tradition (note: every time i think or say or write this word i cannot help but hear the word belted out heartily by the character tevye in the movie 'fiddler on the roof'!)

my family traditions include: hiking through the woods with our dad to harvest a tree (then carefully turning the bare side to the wall & tying fishing line from the tip of the tree to the ceiling to keep it from falling over), icing aunt mary's sugar cookies (no one can tell me who 'aunt mary' is though) & hanging them on the tree (we may have stopped this tradition when my cousin ate one that had been rehung after being stored for a year), hanging our stockings (these, on some occasions, included dad's grey work socks or grandpa's dress socks), never opening a gift before christmas (unless our cousins from my mom's side were visiting & it was their tradition so we obliged & opened one on christmas eve), apparently tortierre is a chirstmas eve tradition (i think my mom snuck this one in later - but i don't mind because it is delicious).

which traditions do we carry on - or start? baby boy will only be 4.5 months old so it doesn't really matter what we do - but we do want our first christmas to be special. these are two ideas we like:

1. christmas stockings - we would like to have stockings that say 'we are family' i have been christmas stocking shopping (buy handmade? or make them?)
2. adopt an animal - not a real one, as we already have three in our condo, but we would like to instill a respect for nature & conservancy & what better way to appreciate a stuffed toy? we're looking to give a grizzly a new home!

of course there will be trees and family dinners and decorated cookies and tortierre; ice skating and walks in the snow and caroling - those will come later.