Memory Monday: Christmas Traditions in Our Family

My daughter and me (on her second Christmas)

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN OUR FAMILY

Through the years, there have been lots of different traditions involving Christmas. With my husband’s family, they always had a big Christmas Eve party get-together. It would go something like this—my husband (as a little boy) had to get all dressed up and then wait until his grandfather finished his job at the grocery store, cleaned up (in a suit, no less), and came over with my husband’s grandmother. Then my husband had to wait (oh, so patiently, I’m sure) while his grandfather ate supper. Next, there were the family pictures to be taken—you know where each person has his or her picture taken, then there are the couples, then the couples with their children, then the grandparents with their grandchildren, and on and on. When that was done, the presents were distributed, usually by the grandchildren, and everyone sat around the room, and one by one each person opened a present. Once everyone had a turn, they repeated until all the presents were opened. Then they played 42 (a domino game) while eating candy and drinking eggnog. The next morning, they would find a new present under the tree. It was from Santa.

In my family it was a little different. On Christmas Eve when we were little, I remember us practicing how we would wake each other up, then run to the living room where the tree was. Early the next morning, we would gather around the tree—when Mother and Daddy finally got up. Once the word was given, we all dived under the tree trying to find our presents, then we would rip them open. Lots of laughing and yelling.

One of the best things about having these traditions, when my husband and I married we didn’t have to alternate families from year to year (by the way, our parents lived in the same town) since they opened presents at different times.

Through the years, my husband and our children have held onto some of those traditions and changed others. Both sets of our parents are gone and our children meet out our house (in jeans and tees, no posed pictures taken) on Christmas Eve for Snack Supper (with eggnog, of course) and games—this tradition we all love and plan to carry on for years to come. But there is one tradition that will change starting this year. Ever since our daughter married, they have slept our house so we could all wake up on Christmas morning and open presents (one person at a time). This year, we will open presents on Christmas Eve and everyone will go back to their home to sleep (my daughter and her husband now live about eight minutes away and my son lives about ten minutes). They will return Christmas morning to get their filled stockings and open the Santa presents, then eat Christmas dinner (it is always roast with all the trimming).

Oh, one more tradition that we still keep. My mother always bought a box of chocolate-covered cherries for each person, wrapped them, and put them under the tree. Mother has been gone for ten years now, but everyone knows that there will be a box of chocolate-covered cherries with his or her name (but no giver’s name, but we all know who they should be from) under the tree—and we all open them at the same time. When I’m old and gray, I will have one of my children promise that he or she will carry on this tradition—a nice link to the past.

What traditions has your family shared in? Which ones have you dropped? Which one do you still keep?