The holidays mean traditions for many of us. Here at WYDaily and Hometown Radio we compiled a few of our holiday rituals. Have some of your own? Share them in the comments below.
“Our extended family comes by to celebrate Christmas either before or after the Big Day, so we’re usually left to our own devices on the 24th and 25th. When Busch Gardens started Christmas Town a few years ago, we decided to go on Christmas Eve. We’re not ones to listen to lots of Christmas music or sing carols at home, I have to admit, but my son, my husband and I immediately fell under the holiday spell when we got to the park that first time. S’Mores! Santa! Rides! Hot chocolate! Christmas shows with over-the top, campy outfits! We were smitten, and we’ve made a Christmas Eve trip of it ever since. It’s funny how a last-minute idea can turn into a tradition — but this is exactly what’s happened to us.” –Desiree Parker
“In recent years, I’ve come to love a tradition in my stepfather’s family: a modified version of White Elephant, minus the stealing part. My stepfather collects funny, cheap and just-plain-weird items at flea markets, dollar stores and specialty shops all year. He wraps them in boxes that are often much, much larger just to throw us off. All of the wrapped gifts are placed alongside boxes that contain gift cards or cash in one big cardboard box. We each draw our gifts by turn and laugh until our stomachs hurt when we pull out items like a $1 Bumpit knock-off or a “Lion King” baseball cap from 1995. Then we groan when some lucky person unwraps a box full of 20 $1 bills. It’s always good for a laugh and waiting to see our surprised faces makes my stepdad positively giddy!” –Amber Lester Kennedy
“We have a newer family tradition that lasts all year long! Each year my Mom collects photos from each of us from throughout the year and then puts together a photo calendar including everyone’s birthdays (super helpful!). Each Christmas we all unwrap our calendars at the same time and have fun looking through the pictures that “made the calendar”! The best part about this tradition/gift is that it hangs in my office throughout the year and I look forward to a new month and the chance to hang a new photo!” –Emily Gerdelman
“When I was a young fella, we used to go out to the barn at midnight on Christmas Eve because supposedly you can hear the animals talking. Of course, they never actually talked but out there in the cold stillness there was still something very magical about the murmuring noises that you hear from horses and goats and such in a barn late at night. Yeah, we were a bunch of saps! But if I still had a barn full of animals I would definitely go out there on Christmas Eve.” –Tom Mahnken
“This year, our family will be incorporating one of my husband’s family traditions into our holidays. Growing up, he and his family went camping in the Everglades most every year, and spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day together fishing, canoeing, and enjoying each other’s company. This year, our family will be joining in that fun for the first time, traveling during the school’s winter break. We’re looking forward to warmer weather, and a week away with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that we don’t often get to see – but we’re also dreading the long drive!” –Karen Peterson
“I am 26 and my sister is 31 and we STILL go to my mom’s early on Christmas morning to open our Santa gifts, stockings and all! My mom still writes “Love, Santa” on all of the gifts. This is the first year that we are actually not spending the night on Christmas Eve (because my sister is married, and yes, we are old!), but we continue to get up super early and see what Santa has brought us over at mom’s house. I guess once we have our own kids, the tradition will change!” –Bonny Young
“Every year my dad’s side of the family exchanges ornaments – most are meaningful with some sort of sentimental value – and the following year, it’s always fun for me and my brothers to look back at all the ornaments we’ve received over the years and hang them up in order of which ones we like the most that particular year. For instance, several years back I received a White House ornament from my grandfather who worked at the Pentagon for a long time, and he retired two Octobers ago which prompted me to hang that one up first.” –Will Armbruster
“Each Christmas Eve, my family enjoys a huge Italian feast, featuring at least three pasta dishes, meatballs, Italian sausage and much more. Afterward, we open at least one gift, which is always a board game for our family to enjoy that evening. The next day, we open our gifts and empty our stockings, then feast on all the Christmas Eve leftovers the rest of the day.” -Nicole Trifone
“My family’s celebration starts on Christmas Eve with my dad’s extended family. We always get together around lunchtime and have a smorgasbord of delicious food: smoked fish my dad makes, chicken liver pâté, pickled shrimp and a Jell-O salad we call “Sister’s Salad” are staples of lunchtime and, for dessert, my aunt always makes pizzelle cookies. On Christmas Day, my parents host my mom’s immediate family and my dad’s mother. We always celebrate at dinner time and my dad always makes a standing rib roast. I love to get in his way while he’s cutting it and eat the end pieces! My husband and I are celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple this year, so I believe our traditions will soon be changing!” –Brittany Voll
