Most families have their own special Christmas traditions. My family, however, has some slightly odd traditions that help to make my holiday season great! Here are 7 of them:
1. The dessert tradition that we never actually celebrate.
The Christmas treat my brother will never enjoy.
GiphySome families may actually have desserts that they eat every year on Christmas Eve or Christmas, but my family just has a made-up dessert tradition. One year in elementary school my brother had to do a project on Christmas traditions and for some reason, he said that every year we eat chocolate lava cake for Christmas. I guess maybe he thought that what we actually do on Christmas is just not as fun as squishy, gooey brown cake. Yet, we have never made my poor brother's idyllic tradition come true.
2. My dad's beautiful Mickey Mouse nightgown.
A Mickey Mouse very similar to the one on my dad's night gown.
GiphyIn this modern era, men rarely go to sleep in more than their bacon and egg detailed boxers. My dad, however, is a god among men, especially when it comes to Christmas sleepwear. Every year on Christmas morning, even when it's a horrid 70 degrees in wonderful North Carolina, he wears this awesome old nightgown that is red and patterned with old-time Mickey Mouse illustrations. I love it.
3. Crab legs and seafood for Christmas dinner.
Look, we all know the best part of crab legs is dipping them in butter.
GiphyAs far as know most families on Christmas have either ham or turkey for Christmas dinner. We usually have some sort of beef and some sort of seafood. This is to keep my seafood-consuming sister and her fiance from murdering us all in a hunger-induced rage. But it's okay, because who doesn't like crab legs?
4. Delightful crescent roll pockets of meat and cheese on Christmas Eve.
Thank you Pillsbury dough boy for the wondrous party turnover recipe.
GiphyThis is one of my favorite traditions that we celebrate on Christmas Eve. My mom always makes this old 1960's Pillsbury recipe which is basically crescent rolls stuffed with cheese, hamburger meat and onion soup mix. My great-aunt Nancy used to make this at her Christmas parties when she was younger. We call these party turnovers and they may not sound great, but they are in fact magical.
5. Leaving eggnog for Santa on Christmas Eve.
Creamy, delicious and better than milk.
https://www.liquor.com/recipes/eggnog/My siblings and I do not leave anything out for Santa anymore, because we are all almost twenty years old, but when we did we knew we were too cool to just leave milk and cookies out for Santa. We left cookies, sure, but we also left eggnog instead of milk (non-alcoholic). Santa probably appreciated our adventurous beverage choices so much that he gave us better presents.
6. The newly birthed movie tradition.
Great bool, great movie.
Barnes and NobleAlthough most families' Christmas traditions have been formulated for years, we have one tradition that was put into place only a year ago. My family watched one of the remakes of "Little Women" last year and my dad randomly decided that this is now going to be a yearly tradition. So, I can't wait to watch it again on Christmas Eve this year!
7. The handcrafted, mismatched stockings made by my aunt.
And yes, we have stockings for our pets as well.
My family's stockings are my absolute favorite thing. My aunt Marian spent years making them for all of our family, as evidenced by the fact that my parents' stockings are half the size of us children's stockings. They are beautiful and personalized for each person and I will treasure them forever.
Although many other families may have different Christmas traditions, it does not matter. Any Christmas tradition is special to the family celebrating and family is what makes Christmas such a good holiday.
