Holiday traditions are something that I hold very close to my heart. Theres something about the holidays that brings warmth, family and kindness to the forefront of our minds and it makes me feel lucky to be part of the human race.
There are so many memories from my childhood that center around traditions and the holidays and today I wanted to share a few with you. Traditions dont have to be huge experiences, even the smallest ones can create wonderful memories.
1. Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning- My mother is an amazing cook and she makes THE BEST cinnamon rolls! Waking up on Christmas morning and enjoying a warm cinnamon roll is something I still love today. Theres something about the gooey sugary yumminess that reminds me of those early christmas mornings.
2. "See you next year!"- Every year on new years eve my mom and dad would come in and kiss us goodnight and say, "See you next year!" I thought it was the most hilarious thing and couldn't believe how silly and clever my parents were.
3. Decorating the tree- Every year we would lugg out all the millions of ornaments that were lying vacant in the basement all year, and spend hours decorating and perfecting the tree. We would talk about which ornaments were our favorites and try not to bread the glass ones, which is surprisingly difficult for four little girls. Every year, the tree changed from green needles, to multicolored fabulous with not a needle in sight! You would have thought it had never been green at all.
4. The nativity story-As a very religious christian family, we would gather around our table every Christmas eve and read the nativity story as we moved our little nativity figures into their manger shelter. We always fought over who got to be the angel but always agreed that our dad would be Joseph.
5. Christmas Jammies- My mom would mark a special box every year that we knew would hold our christmas jammies. Sometimes she would lose the box and it would take way too long to find the right one but we always got brand new christmas pajamas to sleep in and wake up to in the morning. There was nothing quite like new, soft and warm jammies to cap off the nights.
Every holiday tradition that my family held was only special because it was ours. As you begin making holiday memories and traditions, remember that its not so much about perfection but about the love and peace that we can feel together as a family. Think about what you want your family to remember about the holidays when they are grown and gone with families of their own and you can make successful memories of your own!
