Ask the Audience: What Are Your Family Christmas or Holiday Traditions?

I love traditions, specifically when they revolve around Christmas. My family always seemed to ebb and flow our way around traditions. There would be a batch of years where we always went to the movies on Christmas day. Another set of years where Christmas Eve (called Noche Buena in Latin countries, which actually tends to be a much bigger deal than December 25th itself) was spent at the same family’s house party until late in the night. There were some years where my family regularly threw the New Year’s Eve party. As we got older and the kids moved away, it was harder to keep certain traditions, but we slowly established some new ones, no matter how small.

My mom, sister and me always buy matching pajamas. Even last year, while I was in LA because of the pandemic, I had my matching set, and I wore it thousands of miles away to feel connected. I also got into the habit of making a very specific lasagna on Christmas Eve, which we’d eat after a church service we’d attend. The evening was spent drinking hot chocolate that either I’d make or my dad, baking cookies for Santa, and watching movies. Typically, I’d enrage everyone by demanding that The Christmas Story play in the background for 24 hours on whatever cable network played it for that long. I’d always give in and let them change it, but if the remote were to be abandoned and no one seemed to be paying any attention to the screen, I’d always surf my way back to The Christmas Story. It became “my” movie in the family, and almost every year for decades, I get something small related to the movie. This year, my nephews (who started surprising Charles and me via mail with ornaments they picked out for us) sent me a Ralphy-dressed-as-a-pink-rabbit ornament and I couldn’t love it anymore than I do.

Before moving out to LA, Charles and I had a few wonderful years where we’d host my twin nephews in early to mid-December for a Christmas sleepover. They always came to help us pick a tree, we’d go to Target where they got to select a new ornament for the year that we bought them, they could grab whatever movie theater candy they wanted, and then we’d decorate the tree, eat a pizza and watch them fall asleep to a movie of their choice. The next morning, I’d always make pancakes for us all. It was probably one of my favorite weekends of the year. They’re middle schoolers now, so I’m sure even if I were still in Florida, that tradition would look a bit different today, but I’ll always remember it fondly.

To me, the best traditions are the ones that happen naturally. The ones that come out of something just happening, and then being repeated, and then before you know it, you look back and think “hey…I guess that’s our tradition.” They can’t be forced, at least not to me. I can’t wait to see what traditions blossom for our new little family come next year and beyond.

I’d love to hear about your family traditions. What are the big or little things you and yours do every year (or have done in years past)? What do you eat? What do you watch? Where do you go? What do you wear? All the things! Let’s all share some warm and fuzzies today!

See you tomorrow, FOAS.