Comments on: Holiday Traditions: New and Old

By: Maigh

Maigh — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:22:54 +0000

@Paulie – I feel ya, and I LOVE the idea of drinkmas!

@Jennifer – thank you! I’m so happy I have you to help me piece things together.

@kevin – HA! We were! Green year round in a box in the garage…

@MJT – sounds nomilous. congrats on grabbing the baton and not poisoning any of your guests!

@bear – ha! santa eventually stopped wrapping ours too…hmmm. I liked it that way.

@kayron – I like the stocking idea! next year, I’m at least going to do that. Help me remember!

@tab – I really like the note back from Santa…that’s awesome. HNY to you too!

By: Tabitha

Tabitha — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:40:59 +0000

oh, and Happy 2009 to you & The Mc

By: Tabitha

Tabitha — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:40:38 +0000

what an awesome post, Maigh.

In answer to your question, I don’t think I’ve held on to any tradition….my family didn’t do anything besides the norm.

That being said though, we have started our own traditions now that we have the kids. We always put up our fake tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve (which happen to be new “santa” pajamas – always). A family friend gave the kids a really nice christmas plate that we unpack every year and fill with cookies and hershey kisses for Santa. And Santa always leaves a letter…thanking the kids for the snack. It’s not much. But hopefully, one day, the kids will reflect with such love as you do….

By: kayron

kayron — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:15:09 +0000

you could go down to the living room to get your stockings anytime (but only if there was light in the sky). my brother and i always went down together and snuck a quick glance at the christmas tree, where the gifts underneath had amazingly multiplied at least tenfold it seemed, and then grabbed our stockings and ran back upstairs to open them – we alternated who’s bed we would sit on to do this, from year to year. i’m sure my parents lay in their beds, listening to us ooh and aah and giggle and groan about the silly things (like underwear and toothpaste) that santa thought we needed. then we would go down and get mom and dad’s stockings (and sometimes nooga nana – she lived in chattanooga) and climb into their big bed, and help them open theirs.
then we would all go downstairs where coffee would be made and the real present opening would ensue.
my favorite part has always been the stocking though – if i were all alone on christmas, i think i’d still stuff my own and open it in the morning.
as it is, this year i stuffed mom’s and the dogs. and we had a great time oohing and aahing and giggling and groaning all over again.

By: bear

bear — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:32:30 +0000

I grew up “in the country” (maybe 30 miles outside of dowtown ATL) but no streetlights or anything. Our Christmas morning rules: you had to CLEARLY see the trees outside; you had to wake the other sibling up (usually we were already in one bedroom or another saying “can we see trees yet?”); and then wake up Momma before we started our “oohs and ahhs.”

Santa didn’t wrap presents – so it was a sensory overload trying to take in all the stuff at once. Santa still doesn’t wrap in our house either. Toys on right side of the tree were mine, left was Tommy, and middle was games and stuff for both of us. Same now – Alex on right, Jessie on left, together stuff in middle.

We never sang Happy B-day to Baby Jesus, but we always made an apple cake as his b-day cake and Santa had a slice of that with his coffee. My kids try to give Santa something different every year. One year it was bbq potato chips and coke! This year it’s Snickerdoodle cookies and eggnog.

I never get tired of seeing that picture of you and your daddy!