There are a few traditions you just don't mess with. Katie reminded me of this last year when I contemplated changing the colors on my bannister wreaths from gold and red to blue and silver. Gold and red are traditionally the colors I decorate with during the holiday season.

She isn't old enough to remember when I switched from silver and red. And she doesn't seem to mind that most of my Christmas wrapping is now silver and blue rather than red and gold.

In her mind, you don't mess with "traditional decorations."

So when I did my "traditional" decorating on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I pretty much stuck with the tried and true...the red and gold "traditional" colors, with a few little "changes" here and there. I know burlap and chevron and "vintage" decor is all the rage, but I'll just stick with "tradition."

Over the next few weeks I will feature a few simple decorating ideas that may help you start your own decorating traditions! I try to keep it "timeless." In other words, I tend to avoid the "fads." Makes it easy to decorate year after year and it is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying all new decor every year.

Traditions are important.

The few years I didn't do the traditional Christmas eve pajamas I heard about it.

This tradition started when my kids where younger and insisted on opening "just one present" on Christmas eve. I don't do gifts on Christmas eve, but they were little and impatient. So I started getting Christmas pajamas and that was what they opened Christmas eve.

The older they got, the more fun it became to find the perfect Christmas pajamas!

The down side is I make everyone shower and primp Christmas morning and then put their pajamas back on for pictures. All that has to be done BEFORE we open gifts. For "little guys" that can be a drag but I think the older "kids" appreciate the fact that once a year we get an awesome picture of our entire family...all decked out in pajamas...lol!!!