traditions!

our family celebrates the winter solstice this time of year. over the years our family has adopted new traditions and kept some old ones that hubby and i grew up with.

we have a solstice tree that we cut from our woods-we pick from trees that need to be thinned out so other trees can grow better.

i love the leprechaun ornament my mom sent us last year.

today we built our solstice cave to honor the return of the sun(or the rebirth of the sun) we have a baby sun and earth mother- we also fill the cave with our totem animals and other creatures that speak to us.

at dusk we light the candles, have a bonfire and listen to holiday tunes.

you probably can't see everything but there are owls, fox, a bear, a dog, a reindeer, a nightingale, and a dragon-to name a few. oh yes, and the solstice mermaid:

the boys always enjoy the cave building.

sometimes we have a party or gathering but this year we weren't up to it and decided to just have family time instead.

another tradition- the mitten puzzle-done every year with much enthusiasm. liam did most of it this year in record time!

as usual i'm knitting up a storm and won't have everything done in time so there will be many knitting IOUs. whatever you celebrate this time of year i hope your days are full of laughter, love and contentment. spend time with and enjoy one another! happy holidays!