‘Tis the Season

Dear Maggie,

Do you celebrate the season with any special holiday traditions?

Sincerely,

Jolly in Juneau

Dear Jolly,

I love the holiday season. I love carols and cookies, twinkling lights and egg nog, parties and, yes, even snow. I could go on! One thing I don’t like, though, is shopping - pretty much ever but definitely not around the holidays. I don’t like the clutter of too much stuff or how stressful things get when the list is long. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy finding just the right gift for someone, or appreciate the spirit of love and generosity that comes with gift giving, I just don’t like it to be the heart of our season. So, in our house, we’ve tried to focus on experiences not things, especially at the holidays. With that as our goal, traditions became especially precious for us.

When the kids were little, one of my favorite things was to have dinner by candlelight each night. I’d cover our long dining room table with dozens of candles - some hand made by the kids, some collected from around the house, and some purchased just for the occasion, and light them all when we sat down to eat. It created a special, magical feeling during the dark winter nights.

The day after Thanksgiving officially became ‘tree decorating day,’ a little early perhaps, but we’d get to enjoy it for longer. Once we’d finish with the decorations, the whole family gathered to watch It’s a Wonderful Life and make fun of my husband who predictably cried during several scenes.

Cookie baking always featured in our traditional holiday prep. Whether we packaged the tasty darlings up as gifts, brought them to a cookie swap, or just enjoyed them for dessert, we looked forward to the time together in the kitchen and the yummy results.

For many years, we took the kids to see The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol. Sure, the boys rolled their eyes some as they got older, but getting dressed up and going to the theater still felt special.

As the dynamics of our family change, we’re adapting. It’s lovely to watch some of the kids find joy as they create new traditions in their own homes. Although things are evolving around here, we’re still holding on to the same approach. The holidays are a season of things to look forward to rather than a couple of days to stress out about!

Wishing you and yours joy and peace this holiday season!