Christmas and children just seem to go together, don't they? This is our granddaughter, Karis, when she first saw the Christmas tree. I was commenting recently about the way it seemed like there was three months between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was a kid. Now, what with deadlines and committments, Christmas is here and gone before ya know it! But, these precious smiles keep shining long after Christmas has passed.

How can we make Christmas memorable for our children and grandchildren? As Rondi and I were talking about today, one of the best ways to do that is by having yearly Christmas traditions. Here are a few that come to mind:

• Build an ornament collection for each child in the family
• Make your own greeting cards
• Invite someone for Christmas dinner that would otherwise be alone
• Read the same special stories each year
• Japanese oranges have a special meaning to the people who live in the Canadian Prairies. A gift from the East, their arrival at the coldest time of the year has brightened many homes and Christmas feasts for 110 years. To many, the festive season begins when Santa Claus welcomes the first major shipment of Japanese mandarin oranges at the Port of Vancouver, accompanied by young Japanese girls dressed in tradition kimonos. On Christmas morning the flavourful fruit find their way into many children's Christmas stockings.

Do you have Christmas traditions in your family? Would you please share a few with me?