The Ultimate Easter Egg Hunt

I got this idea from my friend, Holly. Every year, her mom hides candy in a bunch of eggs, and in a few she hides, nickles, dimes, quarters, and even a couple paper dollars. In one egg, she hides a $20. The catch is, it isn't just for kids. Her parents have a lot of land, so the kids get a bit of a headstart, but she always tells me how hilarious it is to see grown men running up and down the hill with their baskets, diving for eggs :)

My extended families don't let their hair down quite that much, so I just do it for the kids for now (maybe someday), and instead of a $20, I just have a couple of $1...which to them is just as good.

Joseph Smith's Birthday Party

Every year on December 23, we celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday with a little mini-celebration in the evening. We make a little cake, sing happy birthday, and watch a church history video or read a related story afterwards. The kids love it and look forward to it as part of our holiday celebrations every year.

Christmas Stuff

Okay, this year has been kind of a bust for this blog, but I couldn't let Christmas get away from me without documenting some of my all-time favorite traditions:

• Making Gingerbread Houses from scratch (this year they are out of graham crackers...but hey :))
• Doing the 12 days of Christmas
• Decorating the day after Halloween
• On the weeks leading up to Christmas, we all keep a mental note of our most favorite decorated homes. Then, on the Family Night before Christmas, we drive around with little "trophies" (usually these are paper sacks of Christmas cookies with a trophy drawn on them) and we take our awards to different families...awarding things like "Most Colorful Lights" or "The Christmas Spirit Award" or "Best Use of Blow Up Figures" and on and on. This is one of my favorite traditions of all-time now.
• Going to Temple Square to see the lights
• We have a gift box with a bunch of stars. You do some secret act of service, put a star in the box with your name on it, and leave the box for the recipient to find (usually on the pillow). We try to fill up the box with stars by Christmas Eve.