kristaphillips 
Of what you ask? Christmas Bears. You know the ones you see at Christmas time in Wal-mart, the Snowflake Teddies?
Back in, oh 1994 I believe, when I was 13 years old, I told my mom that I wanted one for Christmas, and I got one. I was SO excited, because I’m a huge traditional Christmas person. And I got one the next year. And the next year. When I married my husband, I informed him of the tradition that he must uphold to get me a Snowflake teddy bear each year.
For a while, he went slightly overboard. One year I got THREE of them because, I think, he couldn’t decide which one to get. Another year I got two. So I finally had to lovingly explain to him that at that rate, the bears would overtake our house.
It is now 2009, and I have 17 bears (and one mouse that my mom THOUGHT was a bear in 1996) that decorate my house at Christmas. These are tossed around my living room and fill every available wall space during Christmas time.
Um, we are festive, what can I say.
Discussion: What crazy traditions do YOU have?
WINNER: The winner of Jenny B Jone’s “I’m So Sure” is KarenK! Congrats!!!
Those bears are too darn cute 🙂
I have one from Harolds in the UK. I don't collect them, but that one is kinda cute.
Congratulations Karen!
I love the bears. You can never go wrong with an adorable host of bears!
No crazy Christmas traditions for me…I don't think.
That's too cute, Krista!! I bet your daughters play with them all the time!
We have too many Christmas traditions to even count! All the way from doing our daily advent activity, to bestowing an ornament a year to each child, to our weekly advent candle reading, and more! Sometimes I wonder if I've established TOO many! But I hope that my children will grow up and have very fond memories of this time of year.
Love the bears!!!! Way cute!
We always go out as a family to pick out a new ornament for the year, or we make them together as a family. My tree is full of ecclectic, yet fun ornaments. lol
I have Matrushka (nesting dolls) that I put out every year for Christmas. My family memebers keep finding them at garage sales so my collection keeps growing. :O)
Oh, wish I'd known…I have ten plastic garbage bags of bears I could've mailed you.
Crazy Christmas traditions? Hmmm. I guess the donning of the Christmas caps for the playing of the traditional White Elephant Game.
There's a few old hangouts, like the baby alligator dressed in Santa clothes that sneak into every year's bounty. The perpetrators disguise them well, but they still slip through!
It's not crazy, per se, but I collect Nativity sets. I have about 40 in all shapes and sizes. 🙂
I'm a fan of bears. My kids call my mom Huggy Bear. I know. I know. But I bet when I'm a grandma I'll opt for some bear attached to my name too. Those pics are adorable.
~ Wendy
Oh boy–I'm such a grinch! OK, must start family traditions that involve decorations! Love your bears 😀
Congrats to Karen. And, I used to collect the Christmas bears too. There all stored in boxes in the basement. I don't get them out anymore because my chew happy dog would destroy them.
The bears are precious.
Blessings, andrea
I love it!
My favorite tradition was my mom creating a "hunt" for my brother and I every Christmas. She'd post clues (in rhyme) all over the house and at the end, there would be $5. One year there was $5 and a bike! So fun! I think last year was the last year we're gonna do it, but it was one of my favorite traditions.
Eek. I don't have any at all. Hmmm…
Too cute though! I thought about giving a character a quirk of collecting bears, and look at you! A real, live person. LOL I think it's an adorable tradition. 🙂
Sweet!
I collect Nativity Sets, a new one each year. I have tiny ones, wooden ones, resin ones, porcelain ones, beanbag ones. I just love them.
Aww…who doesn't like Christmas bears? 🙂
I collect ornaments from towns and places we've traveled. It's so nice to unwrap an ornament as we're decorating the tree and say, "Hey, remember when we went here?"
We also don't eat any meat (just fish) on Christmas Eve–more of a Lithuania tradition. Some people think it's crazy. 🙂
Hi Krista,
Love your bear collection 🙂
Did I really 'win' Jenny B Jones's book??? I sent you an email w/ my address…thank you!
karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)Com
I'm more of a tree ornament person. I probably have enough to decorate several trees.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
I bet your house looks like disneyland at Christmas! Too cute.
At my house it is hosts of angels, almost every one of them handmade, either by family members or bought at craft sales.
You all have some GREAT traditions! And those of you without them… GEEZ LOUISE! Time to get traditioning!
*grin* And the crazier the better… they are highly memorable that way! LOL