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What’s Your Favorite Holiday Tradition?
We think about PH all year, so let’s have some fun this holiday season. What’s your favorite holiday tradition? This can be something you did growing up and continue, or something new.
I love learning about traditions that some do with their children or friends and loved ones as adults. Others may be alone this holiday season. Wherever you’re at and your special traditions, we want to hear about them.
One of my colleagues recently shared that she wrote a letter for her boys when they were younger. It was like a treasure hunt for a family gift and a recap of what happened throughout that year. As adults now, her boys write her letters, no treasure hunt gifts, though, LOL. I so loved this tradition.
So, what’s your favorite holiday tradition and why?
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21 Replies
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@jenc does filling Christmas stockings count? For some reason that has always been my favorite thing to do. I love selecting stocking gifts and filling the stocking to the point of bursting. I get so carried away sometimes, everyone ends up with two.
On Christmas ever everyone gets to open one gift, and it’s usually Christmas PJ’s. Otherwise, we don’t open gifts until Christmas morning, which is a tradition from my childhood that I refuse to let go of. My husband’s family always did gift opening on Christmas Eve. Waiting is torture on Brian and the boys – which I think makes me enjoy it even more. LOL!
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Wait, @colleensteele, everyone has two stockings at your house? I now feel cheated, LOL.
I also enjoy stuffing stockings. I have six hanging, one for each of us, Sasha, the kiddos, and our grandpup. I enjoy shopping for sticking as I can buy lots of little things that I think each one will enjoy.
Too funny, as I mentioned yesterday on our call, we also do Christmas PJs, or “comfy” PJs now on Christmas Eve. That started when I was a kid, and I continued that on Christmas Eve night. We always opened our gifts from my Grandparents on my mom’s side that night. Christmas Day was our other gifts and usually our other grandparents unless we did the weekend before. Comfy PJs are something we all can use and enjoy, right? Does anyone else follow this tradition?
Also, when KK was small, we always made cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. She reminded me that we would be doing that this year, too.
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@jenc PJ’s on Christmas Eve started when I was a child too and my mom made sure I kept the tradition. She has always mailed us them to open on Christmas Eve and now that she is older, she sends me money and asks me to buy them for everyone.
The tradition I did change as an adult is we decorate the tree early in December. My parents always put the lights up prior to Christmas Eve but the ornaments weren’t added until that evening. I prefer to have it fully decorated to enjoy all month long.
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Your mom sounds like mine in some ways, @colleensteele. I told my mom not to buy gifts this year, with all going on. But, of course, the gifts so far wrapped under my tree have been sent from her, LOL.
Comfy PJs are something most everyone enjoys, right?
I enjoy buying gifts. But I am not so good at wrapping and never have enjoyed it. AS a child, I would sit on my mom’s bed or floor and chit-chat as she wrapped. My mom is creative; she once owned a florist. So, her packages look so lovely. Mine, not so much, hehe.
Many I know save decorating for Christnmas Eve. Like you, I enjoy decorating early and enjoying the decorations. Usually, we put our tree and decor up the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year was a tad late.
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Every Christmas since my boys were young the got Pjs , new socks and a new toothbrush in there stocking. They are now in their 40sand 50s and the tradition continues for them ,their children and grand children.
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Hi @gward, it’s great to see your post. How are you doing?
I love this tradition and that it carries over through the generations. How many stockings do you fill now? Oh crap, I forgot toothbrushes for the stockings, which I get each year, LOL.
I also often add socks, but that depends on finding cute ones for each stocking. These are all things that we know everyone can pretty, much use, right?
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. May you find some peace and joy this holiday season.
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@gward I love it! I’m really hoping my sons keep the tradition going too! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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I wanted to read over these again. Isn’t it fun reading about others’ Christmas or holiday traditions?
What about some of our newer members? What traditions do you enjoy? I bet @kygon and her crew have many, and at least one has to be funny. How about y’all, @kakes and @hussbutton? You must have family Christmas traditions.
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@Jenc This year has been a little hectic so I have yet to get my tree up but a few favorite traditions is that every year the weekend before Christmas we go get a bunch of plain stockings from the dollar store and the glitter glue (red green gold and silver) and the kids each decorate a stocking and put their name or initials on it and the year even if its on the back, we save them, but they make a new one every year so I have a giant box of just stockings. When the kids were younger we did cookies or a gingerbread house the same day, but now that they are all older they just do the stockings… We also get up early and wake the kids and have them line up on the stairs on Christmas morning for a picture before they go up and into the front room to open gifts .. then we pass them all around and everyone opens them one at a time LOL … its just silly but fun. We will sure miss our Kay this year, perhaps i will hang all her stockings going up the stairs this year…. We also do the one gift on Christmas eve.. This year is a bit off with that as well because our kids are mostly grown and Teeg is quickly becoming teenager ish so most of the adult kids will come to to our stocking and tacos night and get a gift card for a date night and some silly socks .. My mom always gave us socks for Christmas and so the tradition continues… modified to ridiculous socks, I am going to get everyone taco socks this year LOL last year they all got animal socks…
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@kygon our families share several of the same traditions – open 1 gift on Christmas Eve, for us it’s always Christmas PJ’s. Christmas picture on the stairs…this dates back to even when I was a little girl, and we all open gifts one at a time.
We have never done the stocking tradition though and I love that idea and the thought of Kay’s stockings hung on the stairs sounds perfect! What a beautiful way to keep her a part of the holiday and tradition.
Does anyone string popcorn anymore? My mom would let me do that while watching Christmas shows when I was little. The memories were worth every pin prick to my little fingers when I wasn’t paying attention.
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Hi @kygon, I love that stocking tradition. That sounds like fun. Hanging Kay’s stockings along the stairs would be lovely and remind y’all of her more. I bet she loved Christmas!
Taco and date night sound excellent. But those goofy taco socks are cute! I usually do fuzzy socks for us women and goofy socks for the guys. But socks have been a part of our stockings since I was a young kid.
We did cookies and gingerbread houses when KK was younger. Because they will be here this year, I bought this mini set of 4 gingerbread houses at Target in a kit. We will decorate those, giving us each our own. Mine will be the goofy one since I’m not such an artist. Hehe.
We are having Christmas Even dinner out. We could do a big pot of soup, salad, and bread on Christmas Day. We have yet to decide, but something simple.
Thanks for sharing, Ky and @colleensteele. Speaking of popcorn garland, I haven’t made that in years.
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@ColleenSteele how fun that we share in some similar traditions! I also remember stringing popcorn as a child but I have never had my kids do that since our tree is more hallmark ish LOL … I also remember making and baking some of our ornaments when I was little .. our tree looked a little hectic growing up, now I even have to use wrapping paper that matches the tree … hahaha
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LOL, @kygon, I remember making and baking our ornaments too. Plus, we often used those garlands we made of construction paper made into rings. Did y’all?
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@jenc I don’t remember making the construction rings for home but we used to make them in grade school and decorate the classroom with them.
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@JenC Yes I do remember making the construction rings but that was a count down thing we had them in our room and only 25 and we would un link one ring per night as a count down. My mom was too cheap to do the chocolate cardboard count downs hahaha.
Mini gingerbread houses sound like a blast maybe I will buy something for tacos and stocking night, I will have to look around maybe we will just do gingerbread men hahaha
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@kygon @jenc the 4 of us made gingerbread house one Christmas. I think the boys were about 12 and 13 at the time. We never laughed so hard. Let’s just say none of us will ever be entering a gingerbread house making contest.
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That’s too funny, @kygon. My mom was too cheap to buy the chocolate countdown, too. But a soon as those grandkids arrived…guess what? She started buying the chocolate treat Advent calendars for them.
The mini Gingerbread house set is at Target and is not expensive. Like Colleen, I know I’ll never win a contest, but it will be fun. Colleen, why don’t you and Brian find something you enjoy doing together and do that this year? Do y’all have favorite foods or desserts that the boys wouldn’t like? Go with those things that y’all passed on to have things they picked through the years.
We also bought a Family Feud Late Night edition to play with the kiddos. It was less than 420 at Ross or somewhere. I am looking forward to loads of laughter.
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Oh, and @kygon, I think I may do something like a Taco or Tostada bar for Christmas Day if we don’t go with soup, salad, and bread.
Hey @dawnt, I’ve been thinking of you. Are you OK? Do you have any Christmas traditions you want to share?
@jenniferbeaty, what about you? @carol-alexander, what will you do this holiday season? Family or friends close by that you’ll spend time with?
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Wow, it was lovely to read back over the traditions many of us shared as kids. It sounds like many of us carry some of our childhood traditions as we have our families.
I forgot about @ky ‘s Taco Night and gift cards with funny socks. I still need socks for stockings, too. We are still thinking about what we will eat on Christmas Eve, so I have some ideas to pitch. Manny says I get crazy this time of year, but I tried telling him last night that this is the last week before Christmas. He is always last minute on shopping and things. I don’t function well like that.
@Gayle Ward I remembered the toothbrushes for the stockings. I have chapstick, hand sanitizers, candy, and new bath scrunchies. Then, I usually find a few things that each person may like.
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During Advent my expectations center on good music. My wife plays handbells and last night their concert was spectacular. At Christmas my son and daughter in law arrive. That’s the top two.
Have a blessed Christmas
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Wow, I love that @Randolph Reynolds! I’m grateful you made it to see the music concert last night! What an excellent way to start the holiday season. Now, the Christmas arrival of your son and daughter-in-law will make it more special!
Enjoy your Christmas holiday season, Randy! I’m grateful you shared such lovely details about your holiday season.
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