The Goose is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming!! I love Christmas so so so much, and one of the MANY reasons that I love it is because of all the wonderful traditions that my family has. Here are some of my favorites:

Decorate on Thanksgiving
Every year after we have our Thanksgiving meal, we decorate our house for Christmas. We put up the tree, bust out the Christmas music and drink egg nog for the first time! Nothing gets me more excited for Christmas than getting out all of our fun decorations that have so many amazing memories attached to them!

12 days of Christmas
This is my absolute favorite tradition. Starting the 13th of December, we start the 12 Days of Christmas. As a family we open a present each night, celebrating Christmas. The present we open usually is something like a new Christmas CD, or a new decoration, or a pair of Christmas socks for each of us, or new ornaments for the tree, or a Christmas movie, or something crafty like a gingerbread house kit. Then, on the 12th Day of Christmas, Christmas Eve, our present for that night is a new pair of pajamas to wear to bed that night! This tradition is by far the most fun!

Mom’s Christmas “Play”
This tradition started when I was really little of me and my brother re-enacting the Christmas story for my mom on Christmas Eve. As we’ve gotten older and my sister came along, it’s progressed a little into something of an annual creative desperate last minute production, which has produced such classics as last year’s Youtube video, a puppet show, a children’s picture book, and home videos including the “Hogwart’s Christmas special” with guest star ‘Donny Osmond’, “The 3 Wise Men” starring my sister as all 3 wise men, and “Best of Christmas Scenes” featuring our most illustrious celebrity guest yet, Hickberry herself (and in the words of that legendary persona, “huh, that’s a gud’n”).

Christmas Cookies
Every year I have 5 specific Christmas cookies that I must bake, and must give away (special bonus if they’re given away by ring’n’running). I always make wreath rice krispy treats, chocolate mint snaps, peppermint bark, chocolate chip cookies with Christmas M&M’s as the chips and sugar cookies with colored frosting and Christmas sprinkles!

Those are just a few of our annual traditions, but really I could go on forever describing things like Grandpa’s chocolate advent calendars, the Garfield Christmas movie and the Muppet Christmas Carol, camping out together on Christmas Eve, our special Christmas breakfast of tea rolls and soufflé, dinner of tree shaped pizzas, caroling with friends, etc, etc. Yep, Christmas is definitely the best time of the year in my family!!