Who else loves the holiday season?
I’m a big fan. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that I discovered only after getting married and I never got to celebrate Christmas as a kid, since I grew up in a Muslim household.
Even before we became parents, my husband and I made a big deal of the holidays.
We don’t decorate beyond adorning our house with Christmas lights nor do we cook elaborate meals. For us, it’s not about the food nor the things. For us it’s about connection and tradition.
Doing less in general. Doing more of what brings us together.
For Thanksgiving, we stay home. The menu is simple and does not take much time or effort to pull off:
Boxed mashed potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes
Homemade vegetarian gravy
And the piece de resistance: a delicious Gardein Holiday Roast
The conversation focuses on gratitude as we each take turn to say what we are thankful for.
During the course of the day, we’ll read books about the Mayflower, the Pilgrims and Turkeys.
We might watch a documentary on TV.
We’ll also bring down the Christmas goodies from our attic.
The day after Thanksgiving is when Christmas season officially starts.
Christmas lights come out.
Christmas stockings come up.
The Christmas tree comes in. Some years, we welcome back the artificial tree we’ve had since before our daughter was born. Some years, we decide to splurge on a live tree. From then on, we’ll exclusively listen to Christmas music. We’ll only read Christmas books. We’ll binge watch Christmas movies.
Soon My husband will “surprise” me with a new pair of cheap Christmas earrings from Claire’s to add to my collection.
We’ll strategize about the ordering, mailing, and retrieving of gifts so as not to spoil any surprises. We have so much fun finding the perfect hiding place for them.
I wrap presents in the living room. My husband, in the office. He usually makes a big show of first parading the gift under our noses before he proudly sets it under the tree. We ooh and aah and laugh with excitement.
Our daughter works meticulously on her wish list. Last year, her letter to Santa turned into a stapled booklet! The first 7 pages were filled with requests for different breeds of dogs but, in the end, she simply asked for a surprise, as she’s done every year.
We will deliver her letter (or booklet) to our Santa at the local mall and take photos. Luckily for us, the same one has been on duty for the past five years.
Other traditions include:
Going to the tree lighting ceremony at our local hospital. (We ride the shuttle there and have a great time listening to live music.)
Walking around a particularly decked out neighborhood.
Driving through Downtown Honolulu to wave at the giant Mr and Mrs Clause on display.
On Christmas day, we all wake up early.
DD* first discovers the gift Santa laid unwrapped on the tray table near cookie crumbs and an empty glass of macadamia nut milk.
The opening of presents usually takes two days at our house. Partly because we spend most of the day and evening with our neighbors at a beach house. Partly because we are blessed with so many boxes to unwrap. Partly because we require DD write a thank you note immediately after opening each one.
This has greatly increased our enjoyment. There’s no frenzy and more gratitude this way. She gets to pause and truly appreciate the person who invested time and money in her. Another benefit is that she does not have to face an overwhelming amount of thank you cards to write all at once. By the time she’s done opening the gifts, all the cards are ready to be mailed. Plus Christmas lasts just a little longer.
On December 26th, last year, our daughter invited a couple of friends for tea and they each took turn sharing about their favorite Christmas gift. This may become our newest tradition.
We’ll take some time to reflect on the year ending and we’ll set goals for the one beginning.
On New Year’s eve, we will feast on my husband’s famous enchilada, chat with neighbors and friends and enjoy the firework display. The skies will be lit up and so will our hearts.
At midnight, the grand finale of colorful blasts will remind us of our hopes, desires, and dreams and the blessings of life and time passing, each burst painting the skies with the magic of all things possible.
We’ll go to bed with ringing in our ears and a smile on our faces. We’ll kiss goodnight, hold hands and drift off to sleep knowing “that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet” (Anne of Green Gables) and feeling thankful for all that has been, all that is and all that still may be.
*DD stands for Dear Daughter
Thanks for creating these traditions for our family. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas !
I loved reading these traditions!!! ❤️
What are a few of yours?