December Traditions: Old & New.

December is my favorite month of the whole year for so many reasons, but traditions are at the top of that list. It's a month just so full of tradition...old traditions that you probably have no idea who you inherited from, new traditions you found on Pinterest that you want to try out, Instagram and facebook filling up with pictures of other people enjoying their own traditions. It all feels so rich and festive.

My three favorites:
Celebrating Christmas Eve. If you know me at all, you know that I freaking love Christmas Eve. Growing up, my family had our own Christmas Eve traditions that are my favorite. When we got married, Chris and I decided we'd make our tradition Chinese take-out and a movie. I'm not sure what exactly we'll do this year, but now that we have Jack, it's going to be that much more magical. PS: Tell me any fun Christmas traditions to do with an almost-one-year-old. 
Turning Christmas shopping into a date. Chris and I have been doing this ever since we were dating. It's a weird thing to call a tradition, but I love it. We get Christmas coffees and go to the nearest festive mall, where we split up and finish up our shopping for each other. It's so much fun being sneaky and trying not to run into each other. Then, since we usually do this just a few days before Christmas, we meet up and pick out any gifts for anyone else we still need to get before we go to dinner. The stores are so festive this time of year, it's easy to make running errands feel like Christmas fun.

Grinchmas. I know I've said this before, but if you're in or around FL, you neeeeed to go to Universal in December. They go all out for Christmas Grinchmas and everything is so fun and festive. The parks are decked out with Christmas decorations, their shows are Christmas-themed, everything is just perfect. And at the end of the day, they do their own Macy's Day parade (with some of the actual floats from the parade!) and it is just the best. Put this one on your bucket list. 
Three new traditions I want to do this December:
Go see Santa. I'm so excited to take Jack to see Santa. He met the Grinch yesterday and it didn't go so well, so stay tuned for funny pictures. 
Go to a Christmas lights festival. We drive around neighborhoods and look at lights every year, but apparently Gainesville takes their lights seriously. There are several light festivals around that you can walk around or drive through and I'm so excited to see them!
Bake Christmas cookies. I bake almost every day in the fall, but weirdly enough, not so much in December. We always make cookies on Christmas Eve, but they're just store-bought cookies. This year, Chris actually has some time off for Christmas, so I want to bake a few fun things. 
What are your favorite December traditions?