Holiday Traditions
The holidays, and in particular Christmas, can be a very stressful time of year but they can also be magical. I personally have a love/hate relationship with the holidays but seeing the joy in my son’s eyes as he experiences our holiday traditions – some for the first time (or at least the first that he can remember) somehow makes all of the stress well worth it. When you think of Christmas what comes to mind? Lights? Trees? Cookies?
No two Christmas’ are exactly the same. Each year is a little different and some run smoother than others. My husband and I have spent many years traveling to see family and a handful have been spent just the two (and now three) of us. A few weeks ago someone asked me to share one of my favorite holiday traditions and I have to admit that put on the spot, I had a difficult time thinking of a single one.
What constitutes a holiday tradition anyway? I have given this question a lot of thought. The fact that I couldn’t come up with a list of holiday traditions off the top of my head was eating at me. What I decided is that traditions don’t necessarily have to be big grand gestures and they don’t have to be things that cost a small fortune to do. Here’s a few of the things that I came up with.
Every year the first thing my husband and I do to celebrate Christmas is to decorate. My husband puts the lights on the outside of the house when he cleans out the gutters from the fall leaves (practical right!?). We decorate the inside of the house and the tree together and I always put on Christmas music while we do it. As a kid I remember doing the same with my parents and I remember my dad always playing the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” Christmas record for us. (Yes…. We had the actual record! Old school!) I admit that my husband and I have not included our son in the decorating experience yet. The past two years we have decorated the tree after he went to bed because we were afraid that he would be underfoot and get hurt touching ornament hooks and other hazardous items. Even though he didn’t participate in the decorating process though… seeing his face when he discovers the tree the next morning is priceless.
Baking is also one of my favorite hobbies and although I bake all year round, there are some desserts that I ONLY make during the holidays. These include: apple pie, gingerbread cookies, and amaretto brownies. This year has been especially fun because my son is old enough to help me and boy does he love it! He gets so excited when he finds out that it’s baking day and will run as fast as he can to get the aprons out and to push a kitchen chair over to the counter so that he can reach. In a way it’s a learning experience, he counts for me and learns what each baking tool is used for, but it’s also a special bonding time for the two of us. It’s especially important to me since right now his dad is his favorite. Seeing his face light up as I let him pour an ingredient into the bowl or sample a few chocolate bits makes my heart happy. I hope that this is a tradition that he always wants to help me with.
The next two traditions on my list may seem commonplace but like I said, I don’t think traditions have to be big or fancy. The holidays aren’t complete for me without watching Christmas movies as a family and watching snow fall softly outside as we watch from the cozy warm inside of our house. The shoveling the next day will have us complaining but the snow sure if beautiful as it falls from the sky. I admit that the snow tradition doesn’t happen EVERY year. For a few years we lived in Texas and obviously they don’t get much if ANY snowfall there and we loved living there but if I’m going to be living where it’s cold enough to freeze my butt off… there better be some pretty snow to make it worth it!
On Christmas Day, whether we are home or visiting family, we always have turkey for dinner. When I’m the one cooking I usually buy a bigger one than we really need and then (providing it turns out OK) we have leftovers for a couple of nights and then I make homemade turkey soup which is different enough to not feel like leftovers and really satisfying on a cold winter night.
Most people probably associate present opening with Christmas day but when I was a child my mom convinced my dad to allow my sister and I to open one gift on Christmas Eve. It was usually a gift from an extended relative that we didn’t see very often but it made the anticipation for the next morning a bit easier to bear and it was fun to extend our celebration. My husband and I have decided to continue this tradition in our house. Another night before Christmas tradition that we have adopted from my childhood is the annual reading of “The Night Before Christmas.” Every year my dad would read the story to my sister and I before bed and now my husband and I do the same for our son. It’s a special tradition to me and I try to do it even when we are traveling away from home. Does your family have a special Christmas story that you read every year? I’d love to check out your favorites. Tell me in the comments!
The last tradition that makes Christmas really special to me is the way that we hand out presents on Christmas day. The person who hands out the presents is required to wear a Santa hat. This is yet another tradition that originated in my childhood but I have chosen to continue. This may seem small and silly to you but to me it’s fun and adds an extra level of holiday giggles to our celebration. We take turns playing the holiday “elf” (who gets to be in charge) and it’s a lot of fun. Do you have special “rules” about who hands out presents at your house?
Grand gestures are great but sometimes the small things are what really make the holidays special. I hope that this holiday season you are able to take some time out of your busy schedule to enjoy some of the smaller holiday traditions that might sometimes get overlooked. Take time to see the holidays through the eyes of your children and try not to let stress steal your joy. Wishing each of you a wonderful and blessed holiday season.
