Fun Family Christmas Traditions
Most of us enjoy family Christmas traditions that go beyond just putting up a tree and drinking eggnog... and what's to stop you from creating new ones?
While just about everyone follows the basic Yuletide customs inherit to our culture, most of us also embellish the holidays with unique family Christmas traditions. Maybe your gang reads Clement Moore's "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" together on Christmas Eve, or attends midnight Mass.
Special candies may also be traditional for you, or maybe your folks made sure at least one of the kids got the token lump of coal in their stocking. Here's a sweet one: some families stick a candle into an angelfood cake and sing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus.
Tasty Traditions
Family traditions at Christmas can be both unique and straightforward, like one practiced by a family of Ukrainian/Polish descent that I know. They love their classic Eastern European foods, but save them for Christmas -- and make a social event of their celebration.
The galumpkis, perogies, borscht, and related dishes don't appear until December, and then they show up in a big way along with turkey, dressing, ham, and the rest, and the family enjoys them for weeks! There's nothing like food and tradition to bring families together, and this example combines the best of both.
Beyond the Culinary
Some families make it a point to put up and decorate their trees right after Thanksgiving; others wait until Christmas Eve, the old fashioned way. Many of us collect Christmas tree ornaments, and make sure one special ornament gets up there every year. Sometimes, only a particular person may handle it.
Some family traditions for Christmas are decidedly odder than those mentioned above. I know of families that hang up a big brass key on the front doorknob or on a wreath so that Santa can get inside (it only works for him). Some folks make sure they watch Ralphie in the movie "A Christmas Story" every single year.
And then there are the real eccentrics. Some people leave Santa a beer (now there's good parenting for you), while in other families, everyone dresses up like Santa before going out and caroling. And at least one family I've heard of substitutes a decorated pineapple for a Christmas tree.
It's All Yours
As weird as they may be (or not), the thing about your family's Christmas traditions are that they're unique to you -- and that makes them special. A tradition doesn't have to be fancy; it just has to be yours, something you do for fun every year.
If you don't have any traditions, don't despair: you can always create a few, from heading for Grandma's to going fishing in Florida (and maybe both, if Granny lives in Key West). So sit down and ask yourself: What family Christmas traditions sound good to me?