The holidays should be a joyous time; a time spent with family and friends. Too often folks feel overwhelmed by the stress of this time of year and their energy and focus is turned to “getting everything done” and unfortunately they start to dread the season instead of looking for all the opportunities to enjoy it. I’ve always looked forward to the holidays. I have such fond memories of all the wonderful times growing up and celebrating them with my family. I knew that I wanted my children to grow up in a home where the holidays were something to look forward too. Where traditions were created and memories made.
I wish we could all live in a winter scene in a Norman Rockwell painting. No, seriously I wish we could. I bought one of his paintings when I was about 20 that depicted a wholesome town with stores that were decorated with wreathes and Christmas lights, with snow falling and perfectly dressed people smiling carrying Christmas packages. 
Unfortunately, reality isn’t quite as blissful as this romantic picture, however we can try to make a more pleasant holiday season by creating traditions that we look forward to doing every year while making memories to last a lifetime.
Here are a few traditions we love to do as a family once December rolls around. They don’t have to be major, in fact my Dad was saying to my daughter and I just today that, “It’s just the simple, silly things we do that makes us look forward to the holidays.”
- Christmas Movies – Right after Thanksgiving every year we start watching our favorite Christmas movies. Here are a few we must watch every year: It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Miracle on 34th Street. If we get around to a few others it’s just a plus. My Dad and I are nostalgic for these movies so we can watch them year after year together. Of course once I had children they started watching them with us, but what has been fun through the years is introducing movies to others who have never seen them before. Watching others’ faces light up when ZuZu says, “Look daddy, teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,” from “It’s A Wonderful Life” will always bring a tear to my eye.
Christmas Village – I love decorating for Christmas. I put up several trees and make sure each room has something that lets one know Christmas is coming. Part of our decorating is putting up a Christmas Village. Years ago we started collecting pieces and now we have a whole little town with houses, stores, a church, ice skating rink, figurines, and much more. We try to change it up every year with adding something new like a ski slope or changing the configuration of the little buildings. Then it’s fun to set a scene with the villagers and play a game of ‘I Spy’ of who can find this or that. The little lights and Christmas music invite you to stop and take a closer look.
- Baking – Although I bake throughout the year, during December we always try to spend a few days baking cookies together. I like to have them available for when friends stop by and for our holiday gatherings. We have our favorite ‘go to’ recipes that we make no matter what and then we may try a new one or two. It makes me so happy to have everyone in the kitchen baking together. Besides cookies, ‘Christmas Morning Cinnamon Buns’ are a must. I make them the day before Christmas and bake them off Christmas morning. They are delicious and they make the house smell so festive.
- Gingerbread Houses – Throughout the years we have decorated gingerbread houses with family, school friends, high school basketball teams, and various others. I love picking out all the candies and sweets so there is a variety of options for decorating. No matter who is over creating the houses it’s an opportunity to gather and enjoy each other’s company while creating some holiday cheer.
- Christmas Party – As I’ve said before, I love to entertain and Christmas time is the perfect season for entertaining. We have a party every year, usually the week before Christmas with our close friends. I love themes (probably from my days as a teacher and I taught thematic units). When the kids were younger I’d plan games such as ‘Christmas Minute to Win It’ with all sorts of fun activities getting everyone to participate in silly challenges. Another year we all wore classic Ugly Sweaters. Another year it was Christmas Trivia. Now that the kids are older and many have at least a part time job, we will be doing a White Elephant game this year.
These are just a few of the traditions I look forward to every year. I hope we’ve created memories for our children to look back on someday with fondness and perhaps they will pass them down to the next generation.
