Liz says, "My favorite tradition is the Christmas tree. Okay, I know that's pretty much a cliché, but it brings the spirit home to me better than anything else, and no matter how much alike Christmas trees are, they're all different, too, and they all have their own beauty and stories within their branches. Kind of like romance novels...hmmm..."
Nan says, "For me, it has to be when my family reads Manny and Company by Charles Sylvester—a very sappy Christmas story that was written the early 1900s. It was a childhood book of my mom’s and she read it to us every Christmas. When she passed away, the book disappeared and we all looked and looked for it, but never found it, so we were without Manny for a few years. Finally, my sister found another copy somewhere on the Internet and our childhood tradition once again became a part of our family Christmas Eve celebration. I keep the book safely among my most treasured volumes and bring it to our dinner each year. We three sisters cry our hearts out over the story and our husbands all just smile at each other and hand us tissues."
Kristina says, "One of my favorite traditions happens early in the season and is usually repeated at least twice. On the Friday after Thanksgiving we load up into RadioMan's truck and drive around to see all the lights. There are several big displays in our city, along with a couple of singing light displays. I make cocoa for the car cups, we turn up the Christmas music and drive for a couple of hours. We each have our favorites and the night is as much about what's happened in the past as it is what we're seeing right now. It's one of my favorite nights of the year."
Margie says, "My favorite tradition is Christmas Stockings. I am the oldest of three sisters and when we got into our twenties, my mom decided she shouldn't have to do stockings anymore. "But," we three cried out. "That's our favorite part of Christmas." At which point my dad probably wished he'd known that sooner as it might have saved him a chunk of change all those many years.
So, it was decreed that we would draw names for stockings. So, each spring all of our names--Mom, sisters, husbands, and granddaughters--go into a hat and are drawn. It was also decreed that my sister and I couldn't get our hubby or kids as we already buy for them. This was decreed after I drew KB's name and had to buy double that year.
And on Christmas Eve, we all gather at my mom's home, eat finger foods and appetizer-type fare, and open stockings one at a time so we can all gawk and enjoy. If you asked anyone in my family what their favorite Christmas tradition was, I believe this would be their answer.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!"
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, readers! Tell us, what is your favorite holiday tradition?
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