Today is supposed to be about your favorite character, but I didn’t get the pictures for it done before we went on our trip that we won’t be home from until later today so I’m trading it with tomorrow’s favorite family traditions š
This has always been a really hard category for me.Ā I LOVE Christmas!Ā There is nothing about this season I donāt like short of maybe crowds of rude people and Black Friday.
Sometimes seeing things through someone elseās eyes can give the same old traditions new meaning and in the long run that can also make the favorite traditions and the memories mean even that much more.
If I had to pick just one tradition though, it would be putting up the tree as a family while eating leftover turkey (from Thanksgiving) sandwiches.Ā When I was a kid we usually put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and leave it until Kings Day, the Epiphany on January 6th.Ā
Hubby and I USUALLY still do that and for that reason we like to go cut our own tree so itās fresh and lasts the entire time.Ā I use an apple cider/sugar mix that keeps the sap from forming on the cut area and keep the water cool and full. But, this is the year we broke with tradition and used the artificial tree, put it up before Halloween and ate out for Thanksgiving so didn’t have any leftover turkey for the sandwiches š
When I was a kid we did a BIG family get together with a HUGE buffet of fun food and we opened our family presents on Christmas Eve.Ā I just saw a few of my cousins recently and we were reminiscing about some of those holidays and LOL how horrible our wardrobes were back then. Thankfully, Iām not in the bottom picture because I remember what I was wearing! But I love my brotherās plaid pants and Monicaās floral blouse. If you donāt hear from me for a few days Iām SURE itās because one them found me after seeing that I posted this picture LOL šMy mom recently retired that tablecloth finally! I never did like it so that made me very happy!
Then on Christmas Day we would do Christmas morning and āSantaā with just the immediate family followed by a BIG turkey dinner with all the trimmings including my dadās stuffing and giblet gravy with ALL the family as well as extended family, which included crazy Aunt Louise and Uncle Herb. I replicated dadās stuffing recipe a few years ago (Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing) and that is now a MUST TRADITION for the Christmas meal no matter what the protein is.
But, what was is just that, WAS so our newest tradition in the last several years is watching Christmas movies, just the two of us and dreaming about moving to every small town depicted in them, kind of like Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls.Ā We loved that show!