Your favorite Christmas tradition
 

What is your favorite tradition? Have you started any new ones since retiring?

We have two favorite traditions. The first is waking up Christmas morning and my wife and I opening up our stockings together in bed, then getting through the rest of the day with our families. The second, and my favorite tradition, is packing up the truck on Christmas night so we can wake up the next day and start our way too long drive to the Villages. Merry Christmas

Seven fishes Christmas Eve.

Each year at Christmas time, my mother created an original tree ornament from something found in nature or that would normally be discarded, popsicle stick sleds, ribbon angels, clothespin soldiers, and many others. Each ornament was hand-made, signed, and dated, and holiday visitors to her home were invited to select an ornament to take home for their own trees.

We have continued her tradition. Each year we create and produce a new ornament design for friends, family, and neighbors who visit our home during the holidays. No two ornaments are ever exactly alike. We’ve made pine cone snowmen and skiers, our own ribbon angels, and--being wine lovers--a few years ago we began creating our ornaments with wine corks. We’ve turned corks into reindeer, locomotives, candles, airplanes, rocking horses, elves, owls, palm trees, sail boats, sheep, and bears.

This year we did an origami Christmas tree and each one was decorated differently. Between my Mom’s creations and ours, we now have enough homemade ornaments to decorate an entire large tree.

Falling asleep in chair after Christmas lunch!

Wigilia
Especially the pierogi and the mushroom soup. We get the dried forest mushrooms from Poland. Not a fan of the pickled herring, but my wife likes them.

My daughters give everyone new pajamas on Christmas Eve, but I have requested to be left out this year as I do not need any more Tartan rags for my workshop at this time

We allow Jackson and Brooklyn in getting the festivities together. Although they subscribe toward and alternative mode (blame the parents), we just let things slide. Perhaps one day they may understand what is really right!

Our friends in Michigan have a big family, and their Christmas tradition was for each family to put on a skit of some sort. One year our friends played Jingle Bells by beating on each other's heads with empty paper towel rollers cut to different lengths to make the notes. I wish I could have been there.

light show

After years of ruined holidays, our favorite NEW tradition is cutting off contact with toxic, dysfunctional relatives. LOL
Here's to a stress free Christmas season! Happy Holidays and Merry Yule!

It's changed through the years. We once opened gifts with our children on Christmas Eve after 1st going to church and coming home to a nice dinner. "Santa" would come for another gift opening to be done Christmas Day. Once the kids left home and had in-laws we had to share them so our holiday changed considerably. THEN we moved here so again more changes. The kids have come down but more often have not for Christmas. We still go to church and have a nice meal as well as drive around to view the lights. We've laid aside the materialism of the season and try to focus on the "true reason" for it.

That's exactly what I did. Merry Christmas!

Opening gifts and going out for sushi.

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My beautiful wife's Lasagna. We have it for the whole family every Christmas. This year we have everyone coming to TV so we don't have to brave the North cold. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.