Holiday Traditions

A day late and maybe a dollar short but I’m here!

I love Christmas. I don’t want to be cliché but I think it really is my favorite holiday/season.

1 / / Decorations I just love love love looking at Christmas decorations. I will go out of my way on the way home from work at night so that I can see different houses decorated. I’m a light lover. I can appreciate the blow up decorations but a house with really nicely done lights are my favorite. If they have music that go with the lights it’s even better. My husbands’ parents do a HUGE get up with blow up decorations.

There is a neighborhood nearby that has beautiful houses that go all out with decorations and you can do a nice car tour through it during the season. Usually a funnel cake truck shows up and you can enjoy one of those while you take a break from the lights. They also tend to have people selling hats and other light up toys/Christmas items. I plan on going this weekend with the kids  and I’ll take lots of pictures!

2 / / Family I wrote in the past about the problems I foresaw for Christmas this year. For 10 years I spent Christmas at my sisters’ house. She did a fancy 10 or so course dinner on Christmas Eve (we celebrate Christmas Eve), we all dressed up fancy, and had a delicious dinner before chatting around a fire and the tree and opening a present or two from my sisters’ best friend who also spent the evening with us.  Then I got my current job and I don’t have seniority to take the time off. Oh, and I also got married.

Somehow I married the only white man who celebrates Christmas Eve. Somehow I was able to get my parents and brother with his family to agree to come to my in-law’s house for Christmas Eve. I still miss spending Christmas at my sisters’ house, but I know it will be a nice time to be surrounded by so many people that night. There will be a big and long game of White Elephant.

Next year I’ll get to go to my sisters’ house since Christmas is a Friday and I’ll have the day off. I’m going to try to get the 24^th off as well (putting in my request on 1/2/15!).

3 / / Traditions Now that I’m married we are starting our own traditions. Well, really I am starting traditions (since Thomas is not too interested in that type of thing). The first is to go to a tree farm the weekend after Thanksgiving to pick out a nice tree and then decorate it. I’m also starting a tradition of having new pajamas on Christmas eve (I bought some this year, but they aren’t really Christmas-ey).  I also have the tradition of going to look at Christmas lights, as I mentioned above. I will also be getting a new ornament for any events that happen in the year (this year I have a new house ornament and a wedding ornament and I need to get a doggy one, too!).  I didn’t really have set traditions growing up, and it’s something I want my kids to have – something they can look forward to every year.

4 / / Music! I LOVE Christmas Music. I get so excited when the local station starts playing it round the clock. I love that they keep playing it a couple of days after Christmas, too. I may not like ALL the songs or all the artists, but for the most part it is probably my favorite part of the season in general.

There are plenty of other things that I love about the season – I mean, I didn’t even talk about presents! But I’ll spare you my giddiness!