Christmas is finally here, which means the holiday traditions of many families are available for all to enjoy.

These traditions can range in age from a few years to decades-old activities or displays.

Here are a number of these items that make the holiday season special to people in Butler County.

Cards bearing joy

The Bearer family of Butler has a bit of a different tradition when it comes to holiday cards.

“We have two German antique Steiff Teddy bears (circa 1906) that were passed down from my father's, Robert Hofer, family,” Kris (Hofer) Bearer of Butler said. “They belonged to his mother, Margarett Hofer, and his aunt, Edna Conn, as small children.

According to Bearer, her mother, Janet Hofer, would display the bears during the Christmas season.

“So 10 years ago we came up with the idea to make the bears the theme of my parents' Christmas card,” Bearer said.

She said the ideas were simple at first, but throughout the years it has turned into a family project.

Their teddy bear Christmas cards have consisted of the bears reading the story “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” baking cookies for Santa, and skiing.

Keeping track of trees

The Winslow family of Butler has been carrying on a Christmas tradition for nearly 20 years.

Tom Winslow would help his sons, Steve, Tommy and Brian, create ornaments for their mother, Charlene.

“When they were younger and in school, I would always make wooden ornaments for my wife each Christmas and put their school picture on them each year,” Tom Winslow said.

They would work together to make the ornaments to which they added family pictures.

“We actually have boxes and boxes of Hallmark ornaments but we always like to use the homemade ones along with others instead,” he said.

The tradition continue with a unique way to remember Christmas's past.

“I have for about 20 years always cut the bottom of our Christmas tree stump off and then wrote the year, type of tree and how tall it is on it,” Tom Winslow said.

Each year the family gets out the bottoms of the trees and displays them.

“My one son was married in August of 2012 and last year he started the same tradition for his family of saving the part of wood cut off his tree to put out each year,” he said.

A holiday pin of pride

At the heart of Christmas is appreciating family and loved ones, and that goes for loved ones who have died too.

Jonnie Sandy Ferrainola of Harmony often wears a keepsake from her Grandma Mary around the holidays. It's a crocheted wreath pin, and she wears the Christmas family heirloom with pride. She received it as a girl.

“I get lots of comments on it,” Ferrainola said.

At a recent party, she wore the 1950s heirloom on her sweater.

“Some friends at a party said, 'Your grandma made that, and you have had it this long?'”

When Grandma Mary died in the mid-1980s, she was 88 years old. Ferrainola said because her grandmother was born in 1897, another century, the wreath pin is something she truly cherishes.

Her grandmother handmade the pins for many years and often gave them as gifts. Ferrainola said the pins also could double as a scarf or hankie holder when pinned onto a coat lapel.

When people tell her how nice the pins look, those compliments make Ferrainola “glow during the holidays” because they reflect the work her grandmother did decades ago.

Variations of SantaWood carvers Dave and Janet Ellis of Butler have created more than 50 versions of Santa, which they use to decorate their house.“Ellis family tradition dictates that with each Christmas comes an addition to their hand-carved wooden Santa Claus collection,” Janet Ellis said.The collection also includes Santas from other cultures.A growing villageThe Visconti family of Butler Township started a Christmas village display in 1985 and has just kept going.“It started with just two pieces in 1985, and we have been adding pieces ever since,” Joann said.The display, which is 20 feet by 4 feet, is set up by Joann and her son, David.“It takes two days to set up and one day for electrical,” Joann said.She said her husband, Mike, enjoys the display, but does not enjoy the tedious work it takes to put together.They set up the display in the middle of November and take it down after the first week in January.Cherished ornamentsBetty Sandala of Butler cherishes the ornaments created by her mother, Helen Preston, and her Aunt Edna.“In the late 1950s and early 1960s, they created Christmas ornaments using satiny covered Styrofoam balls,” Betty said.The sisters would decorate the Styrofoam balls with velvet ribbons, gold cords and laces and hundreds of sequins, pearls and beads.“In looking closely at the ornaments, I cannot imagine how many hours went into creating them,” Sandala said.But now she no longer hangs them on her tree.“Now they are nestled permanently in a wicker sleigh so the sequins, pearls and beads are not lost,” Sandala said.“When the Christmas season is over, I gently wrap them, sleigh and all, in plastic wrap and store them in Styrofoam, so they are not damaged, and can be enjoyed once more in the next year's celebration.”