It's a Family Tradition

Everyone has their holiday traditions. I don't care whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa; everyone has some sort of tradition that has been passed down in their families for generations. The holidays are here, and this year will be a different and difficult one for me. My parents have separated after 30 years of marriage. My fiance is serving nine months in a correctional facility two and a half hours away for not minding his p's and q's on a case from a few years back. I'm still determined to keep our traditions alive and going. Growing up, we've always had three things that you could count on come Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we got to open one gift. More often than not, it was pajamas, but nevertheless, it was a gift that we got to open "before Christmas"! Not to mention the fact that very little surpasses the delicious joy of new pajamas. Then, on Christmas morning, we'd dig through our stockings and open gifts. There's always one gift under the tree that everyone got. And there was no mistaking it for anything else. It rattled a certain way. It was just a specific shape and size. Queen Anne's chocolate covered cherries is what my Dad brought to the party as a tradition. Every single person got a box of chocolate covered cherries for Christmas! Mom was never really a fan, so she either gave hers to dad, or my brother and I would decide who got it. 

           

Once gifts and cleanup was done, and the food was cooking, on came the TV. I'm not sure where you're from, but I know in our home. A Christmas Story (leg lamp, "you'll shoot your eye out", "oh fudge") airs back to back, all day, on Christmas. We would catch bits and pieces of it as we made our way around the house enjoying our new things, grazing on the snack stuff while mom cooked a ham and the trimmings to go with it, and finally getting showered and dressed before any of the relatives showed up. My fiance's family tradition is one of my favorites, simply because of how it came about. His dad is an Army veteran. He finally retired around a year ago after serving for the majority of his adult life. When Derek (fiance) and his sisters Michele and Cassie were little, James (Derek's father) was active duty, and was set to deploy at any moment. It was Christmas. The kids were on a pallet in

the floor watching "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", and James and Hope (Derek's mother) were in their recliners. The phone rang. All James said was, "Okay". He'd gotten his phone call, and it was time to go. It was late. He was already packed. There was nothing more for him to do but head out to do his duty as an American soldier! Every year since then, they make it a point to watch Christmas Vacation every Christmas. I was blessed enough to be included in this part of their family history, and I absolutely love it.

            Since I've grown, and have become more interested in the family get-togethers and such, I've come up with some traditions myself. Mandi and I have begun one of our own. Usually a week or two before Christmas, we get the kids together, and we bake some sort of holiday treat. It may be cookies, it may be cupcakes, but we bake. Prior to this night, we usually raid the Dollar Tree and get crafting supplies. We get the kids new pajamas, and we make homemade ornaments for the Christmas trees. The kids usually make one for our trees, and then one for the grandparent's trees, or the other parent. We watch Christmas movies until the kids can barely keep their eyes open. 

 I plan to start and keep as many new traditions during my time on this earth. Moreover, I'd love to hear some traditions you all have in your families!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Happy Kwanzaa, to all who dare to read my blog! God bless us, every one!