The Tradition Moves On

I am so proud of Princess One! I have had so much going on that I never did get back to posting all the Christmas posts I really wanted to share. Since things are calmed down a bit since Princess Four's hair scare and she is back at college, I figured the next few days would be a good time to post about those Christmas moments that I really want to remember and that I am sure the girls will be looking for when they search the blog.


It is funny how they steal pictures off my blog to post elsewhere or use for other things and I get behind and some will ask if I am going to post about certain things or post pictures I took of an event. 

Today, I wanted to share what a wonderful job Princess One did on her family's pajama Christmas pants. As you know, if you read this blog, we always do Christmas Eve pajamas. My grandmother would get scraps of flannel from a sleeping bag factory and make us matching pajamas every year. 

My mother kept them and then would give them to her grandchildren and because we didn't live near her for many years and my older siblings had children first, they ended up with the "Grammie Jammies" and I eventually ended up with one nightgown. It is red with big BUCKS on it with antlers etc. 
 
I smile just thinking about it because back in the day, the only thing they would put inside of sleeping bags was, of course, deer because who else would need a sleeping bag other than a hunter. :-) 

Here is a link to my first post about this. Here is a post from 2011 Princess ones wedding was the week before. I bought their "collection" pants that week as the wedding occupied my time.   Here is the post from 2013 with our "Footie Pajamas." I just realized that I have no Christmas pictures at all for 2012 on here as that was the year Princess had her surgery and I went to Czech with my mom. Sad we missed posting as I am sure we had a Christmas. ha ha.

Now, there are all sorts of cute sleeping bags and cute flannel fabrics of all colors and designs. I made all our Christmas pajama pants for years and for the past five years or so, I have just been buying them when I find something I like or something that is a good deal. 
 
Prince One and Princess One both graduated with their undergrads and Prince One's masters from the same school and now Princess Two works "HR" at a subsidiary or sub/off shoot of that school. 

So, I thought it would be fun to use that for our Christmas Pajamas. I found some really cute pajama bottoms of flannel at a second hand store and hoped they would fit Prince as I could find these really cute stripped cotton bottoms for the girls. They didn't fit him but I did purchase the pajama set in the school colors just in case. I also bought two large sweat shirts and was sad neither fit him but he looks great in his matching colored pajama set. 


I took the pajama bottoms with the school logo on them and made a sleep sack for Grand-Princess. She looked so cute in it with her parents. I LOVED having them all lined up on the couch but when another Princess marries, we will need to start two lines. 

Princess One found some cute cassette tape flannel on clearance at her local fabric store and was hoping to be able to get at least their pants out of it but she could only get Princes One's but did have enough to make the baby a set of matching pants. 

She returned and was happy to find that they had girl colors in the cassette tape flannel as well and was able to make her a pair in pink. She said she learned a lot making them as she has never really sewn clothes before so I am so proud that she took that on and was able to make them. They looked so cute in them and we took some adorable pictures of them as they slept in them the night before our Christmas Eve. 


I am thinking if my life ever calms down, I would love to make "Grammie Jammies" for my grand-children every year. I do enjoy sewing and would love to find fabrics that match things they enjoy. I can't say that I loved the "deer" on my pajamas but I did LOVE the pajamas my grandma made as they were cotton and didn't get static and they were warm so I could pull my legs inside and stay warm. Most of the store nightgowns we owned were very static forming and would crawl up as we wore them and would spark at night with the electric build up. They were also quite cold and I also don't like non-natural fibers as they make me sweat at times so I LOVED every Christmas when we would get our new pajamas on Christmas Eve. 


My grandmother was one of the best seamstresses I know. She could make anything. She made my mothers pageant dresses and my mother won BIG pageants. She could take several patterns and make one dress from them and also would take a dress that was made and alter it. One of my mothers biggest wins was in a wedding dress that my grandmother took and made into a pageant dress.

I can't even let a Christmas Eve go past that I don't think about my grandmother and her HOURS of sewing on her VERY old sewing machine and how amazing she made everything look with that simple old machine. I have memories of her sitting in her "work room" sewing away. It almost brings tears to my eyes thinking of how simply she lived and how much service she gave to our family and the community and country. She and my grandfather sacrificed so much for us to have what we have today. I am truly grateful for their sacrifices and service that allow me to be home and do what I do for my girls. 

I am truly blessed with a great heritage!!! I'm glad the tradition continues. Thank you Grandma S. and way to co carrying the torch Princess One!!!