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What are Your Favorite Holiday Traditions?
As the calendar marks Thanksgiving tomorrow here in the United States, so begins the holiday season! Growing up in a super All-American family, holiday traditions are important to both sides of my family. I may have been an only child, but my family always made sure that I was included in whatever activities we were doing.
On Thanksgiving, we would go out on my Uncle Joe’s front lawn and play football. Every Christmas Eve, we’d go to my Aunt Fran’s house and spend the night eating and flipping back and forth between A Christmas Story and the Hawai’i Bowl, a college football bowl game. When I was really young, every Christmas we’d go to my Uncle Rob’s house, and my cousins and I would change into pajamas and open presents.
What are your favorite holiday traditions?
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2 Replies
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I grew up surrounded by extended family on my mother’s side. We got together very frequently for dinner, movies, summertime barbecues, etc. I can’t recall specific holiday traditions but my childhood as a whole was colored with family togetherness. As an adult, some of my siblings and I have begun new traditions with our children. Around Thanksgiving, we take a trip into the nearby mountains to harvest Christmas trees. WE bring sleds and spend some time playing in the snow before bringing the trees home to decorate. Another tradition we have is Christmas brunch at my mom’s house rather than another ham/turkey dinner with all the fixings. I love that my daughter is getting to experience the same closeness with her cousins that I had during my childhood.
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My, oh my… I have quite a few holiday traditions! Traditions mean so much to me because they allow family to come together to remember celebrations from years past – and appreciate the celebrations in the present even more. In my family, we like to have Mom’s homemade stuffing on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast as we watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade! For Christmas Eve, we have a beautiful dinner party at my in-laws where we enjoy some bites, sing carols, exchange gifts, and reminisce. On Christmas morning, I still wake up my parents at the crack of dawn with the sunrise at the ripe, old age of 33 to open Christmas gifts… I guess that’s an only child trait! All holiday season long, I force my husband to help me cook (and wash the dishes!), go out to seasonal restaurants, and also catch all holiday movies – starting from Hocus Pocus and all the way down to The Santa Clause – but I think he secretly enjoys this, too. I love the holidays!
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