holiday traditions with evenflo

Thank you to Evenflo for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

as i have mentioned already, this is, in some ways, a season of rest for me. it’s also a season of reflection and celebrating. after plowing through the year, i try and make an effort to keep november and december more minimal for our family; allowing the richness of peace, silence, and traditions to fill our home. less busy and more slow.  i know that this will not always be an option, but am grateful for it at this time. my hope is that our littles remember their childhood christmases as a time of service, creativity, anticipation and easy happiness. 

last sunday, we went to a beautiful church service together (i can’t stop thinking about the message) and then spent the day out and about in uptown charlotte during the afternoon hour. following some time in the city,  we spent some time at home- we baked, sang, danced and watched miracle on 34th street (the 1994 version/i am struggling being apart from my sister right now and it’s her favorite). for our adventure, we used our new pivot stroller from evenflo. we have been using this stroller for about a month now and we are loving it! this is the most versatile stroller we have ever owned. it can be used several different ways: forward, backward, or you can even lay the stroller back like a bassinet and the transitions are all extremely easy to do. 

for nearly 100 years it has been evenflo’s mission to find and provide products that help you throughout your journey as a parent. to the evenflo family nothing is more important than the safety, well being, and development of children.

for the second year in a row, we enjoyed the german christmas market (a new tradition that reminds me of my days teaching abroad in germany / fall of 2006) although our market isn’t quite like the european markets (they are simply a dream), it’s still been very enjoyable and fun to experience each year. 

after the christmas market, we walked to a grocery store for cookie supplies 

evenflo pivot stroller 

my favorite holiday traditions + what i want to create for our kids | 

+ cutting down a tree at a local farm (or driving to a farm in the north carolina mountains) 

+ baking cookies with hot chocolate (maybe some festive mini mugs that our kids would always use?)

+ holiday movie nights (what are your favorites?) 

+ an advent calendar (i would love to incorporate prayer, service, and books into it once my kids are older) because the coming/arrival of something so special should be celebrated. 

+ as a child, i loved driving around my hometown and looking at all the pretty christmas lights. for our kids, i love the idea of a ‘holiday bus tour.’ possibly a week before christmas? … we would have our kids look under their pillows for a ticket. on the night they find the ticket, we catch a ride on the ‘holiday bus tour’ aka our suv. we would go around in our pajamas and stop by our favorite places for holiday lights while listening to tunes. 

+ a day/night at the german christmas market 

+ st. nick coming in early december / a letter to santa, a small gift, oranges, candy in our shoes 

+ i want to have a night dedicated to lighting the tree – where we put on a favorite record, dance, do it all up together. i also want to have a tree designated to all the ornaments my kids love + maybe some popcorn garland and tinsel? 

+ random acts of kindness (here are a few ideas for giving back) 

+ christmas eve was always the most magical night of the year for me growing up… it was intimate and beautiful. we would all get dressed up as we enjoyed a nice dinner (similar to the one we still enjoy today) with all four of our grandparents (i had no idea just how fortunate i was to be able to experience this as a kid). after dinner, we would drive around with our grandparents and would look at christmas lights/would go to our town square to see baby jesus in the manger. when we got back, the carrots on the front step were usually nibbled and the tree was full of gifts when we walked inside. there was alaways candles lit, a bowl of red and green m & m’s, and the record player was always on (oh, and my parents’ video camera, on the tripod, was always set-up!) we would spend hours, taking our time, opening each gift. i remember the excitement from both us (and from grandparents) the joy! the way my parents made it all so special. after we opened our gifts, our neighbors (they had four girls) would usually come over and we would play until late in the evening with our new toys while our parents enjoyed cocktails. christmas eve – simply my favorite. 

the pivot is very easy to fold this stroller/it’s slim when you do fold down

favorite features of this stroller | 

the evenflo pivot is a stylish system with three reversible modes. it features a large, three-panel canopy that provides full coverage. its cruiser tires and ergonomic handle offer a smooth ride and effortless handling. i have found that it is very comfortable to use- both of our evenflo strollers are lightweight and are perfect for city living.