The song "Santa Claus is coming to town" constantly makes my children reminded to be on their best manners or else Santa might just pass them by on Christmas Eve without any presents. There are a lot of ways to encourage children to slow down and behave, but none fairly as believable as hearing part of a song, "He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake".

Like most children, my kids are no different when it comes to hoping and wishing for the grand day and all the mystery and wonder that Christmas brings. They want to beautify our home with Christmas lights and collectibles, and each one constantly always has their preference. The very first thing that my son sought after to exhibit was the Nativity scene that he had completed at school when he was still seven years old. His teacher at church gave twenty Popsicle sticks to every child, but five had been divided in half. His class attached the sticks collectively in the form of a house, with the cut sticks used at the sides. It was finished much like Lincoln logs were planned, and a small miniature of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus attached at the bottom. It made an attractive showpiece on top of the television with one or two red candle votives on every side.

Our next ornament to create was the Christmas candles in the windowsills, with a dynamic Santa and Mrs. Claus. A fresh custom that started with our youngest son by adding up lighted Christmas wreaths in every window. Of course, my much loved ornament was a huge Christmas door wreath with a gold angel in the center and gold leaves and berries outside of it.

Our supreme family custom was going away to their aunt and uncle's house for the ceremonial dinner and exchanging of presents. As they grew up, they grow to be part of the setting up and carrying out the particulars of entertainment. One of the children would take part in Christmas carols and they would guide the adults with their singing. Another cousin would browse online to see precisely where Santa was on the radar and which direction he was going to. The younger kids would get so thrilled hearing those information.

Unwrapping gifts, after having a Christmas Eve dinner with family, was the final end to our family gathering. The kids were always enchanted in getting a custom-made decoration and something exceptional for their talents or fascination. By the time we were over and done with opening the gifts, the radar illustrates Santa was getting closer and closer, which meant it was finally time to go home and get all set for bed.

The concluding practice we adhere to on Christmas Eve was reading the book entitled "Night before Christmas". The kids would change into their pajamas and set off to bed, waiting to hear the noise of reindeers on the roof. They would get so keyed up when they hear the jingle bells chime outside. That was always their hint to close their eyes and start to dream of what was about to arrive. Customs are fantastic because they let kids know what to look forward to. Our kids now have their own families and customs, but a lot of that they grew up are still living at present in their homes. Angels with halo, Christmas lights, family and Santa Claus are part of the way of life that many families commemorate and are what makes Christmas so much fun.