Thanksgiving is over. Let's bust out the Christmas decorations! And topics! While I'm all for waiting until Thanksgiving is over before jumping, feet first, into Christmas, the truth is: it's over. And it's time. Quit your grumbling and accept it. You've got just over a month to get ready. So get on the ball! And with that, we'll be bringing you some ideas to incorporate new Christmas traditions into your open adoption.

Our first stop? Christmas pictures! You can do this a few ways.

1. Get everyone's picture taken with Santa Claus. The younger you start this tradition, the more hilarious it will be to look back at the results as the years pass by. You can include the adults or just the children. As more children are added to the family, included them all! If you can't get together one year for the picture, be sure to get pictures taken anyway and share them back and forth so that there are no gaps in years. It's even more fun (and humorous) if you force your teenagers to participate.

2. Get special Christmas pictures taken without the guy in the big red suit. Go with matching outfits or, at the very least, a Christmas-y theme. Again, this will be a treasure to break out every holiday and marvel at how the children have changed. Fashions, too! Once again, if you can't get together for the official picture, have the kids' pictures taken and share them back and forth.

3. Get handy with photo-editing. If, for some reason, you can't get together for the holidays to take the picture, learn some photo shop type editing and place the children in the picture together even though they were taken in different places. It's not that hard to learn to do! It might not look legitimate, since lighting will vary from place to place, but it will be amusing all the same!

There are many more ways to incorporate pictures into your holiday traditions. Do you have some ideas? Please share them!

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For more, read:

1. Watch the Parade Together.

2. Centerpieces.

3. Recipe Exchange.

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Photo Credit belongs to Jenna Hatfield, purchased 2006.