While advertisers boast slogans of "new and improved" to the consumer, it's comforting to know that some things never change.  Yearly traditions bring continuity to a constantly changing world.  Family traditions are the lighthouse beacon that welcomes ships passing in the night, inviting them to drop anchor in a safe harbor. 

Surround your family with familiar sights, sounds, and tastes at Christmas.  Let the echoes of past generations hug your spirits and refresh, refuel, and reassure your souls.  Below are some ideas for yearly traditions that can give a sense of stability and cohesiveness.  This year, pick one or two to incorporate into your holiday season.

• Watch "It's a Wonderful Life."
• Open one present on Christmas Eve.  Let it be a new pair of flannel pajamas to be donned on Christmas morn.
• Take a family photo in front of the tree each year.
• Scatter a puzzle on a table in the family room the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Work on it sporadically and try to have it finished by Christmas Day.
•  Take your family to hear a performance of Handel's "Messiah."
• Read Luke 2 by candlelight before going to bed on Christmas Eve.
• Make placing the angel on the top of the tree the crescendo of the tree-decorating festivities.
• Decorate the tree while listening to the same Christ-centered Christmas music every year.
• Read Christmas bedtime stories during December. ("The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever" is my favorite.")
• Decorate the tree on the same day each year.  Our family decorates on the Sunday following Thanksgiving.
• Volunteer to work at the same charity each year.
• Wait until Christmas morning to place baby Jesus in the manger.
• Watch Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" on video.
• Listen to Focus on the Family's audio version of "A Christmas Carol."
• Record a cheerful, Christ-centered greeting on your answering machine.
• Attend a Christmas Eve candlelight service with your family.
• Start a collection (stamp, coin, etc.) for your child.  Add to that collection each year.
• Give each child a Christmas ornament each year that reflects his or her interests.  When that child marries, give him or her the collection as a wedding gift.  (Buy yourself an extra box of tissues for when you hand the ornaments over.)
• Videotape family members opening presents every year.
• Serve the same breakfast menu every Christmas morning.
• Fill a basket with old Christmas photos and set them on your coffee table.
• Line your sidewalk or driveway with luminaries on Christmas Eve.  Use white lunch bags filled with two inches of sand and a votive candle set in the center.
• Decorate a second tree with all the children's and grandchildren's homemade ornaments.

• Wrap your child's bedroom door with pretty gift paper to transform it into a giant package.