Holidays
Christmas Traditions Through the Years
I’m someone who has never been a fan of growing up. While I don’t mind change, big change that growing up brings about is not something I enjoy. I hated living on campus at college. I hated my brother moving out when I was in my senior year. And I hate how much Christmas has lost its magic on me.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still like a big kid at Christmas. I still get extremely excited, looking at all those presents under the tree. My mom still makes up stockings for my brother and me. I still have trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve.
But it’s a lot different without my brother here to share in the spirit of Christmas.
I’ve been seeing a lot of Christmas posts, as people celebrate early with family and friends. So I thought it would be interesting to talk about my traditions.
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve has never been all that different than any other day in my family. My mom has tried to start traditions with my family to no avail. It’s usually a day spent relaxing and then going to the Christmas Eve service at my church. This year, we’re members at a new church and going to their 3pm service. My pastor kept telling us how it’s his “most favorite” so I’m really excited about it!
Other than the year when I was nine, we’ve never opened presents on Christmas Eve. For some reason, that year, my mom and dad let us pick out two gifts. I spent so much time hemming and hawing about which present open. I was trying to decide between a smallish, rectangular package (which ended up holding 3 Baby-Sitters Club books) and a huge gift. I opened up the huge gift, which ended up being the awesome board game, Mall Madness. Basically, it’s a game where you have to buy purchases from specific stores to win. It’s such a fun game! My brother’s gift he opened was a dart board. So while my dad and brother set up the dart board and played, my mom and I set up Mall Madness and play. I can remember this night like it was yesterday.
Anyway, I like the anticipation of Christmas Eve. When I was in sixth grade and my brother in seventh grade, we began spending the night in the same room. We would try our best to stay up the entire night, but I only ended up doing this once when we stayed the night at my uncle’s house and had his plethora of movies to entertain us. Usually, we would play games and just talk. This is what I miss most. While I cherish the relationship I have with my brother now and we’re a lot closer than when we were younger, I still miss this tradition. We share the same excitement and anticipation of Christmas and it was so much fun to experience Christmas Eve night with him.
Christmas Eve now is celebrated with my mom and me. As I mentioned before, we go to a Christmas Eve service at church. We don’t have any traditions set in stone right now, we’re still trying to discover some. Last year, we made Christmas cookies and watched a movie. This year, we’re hoping to eat out at a restaurant, make Christmas cookies, and watch a Christmas movie. (Any suggestions? Other than Elf, which we already own and will be watching anyway!)
Christmas Day
Christmas Day is very laid-back. When I was younger, my brother and I would wake my parents up at 6am to open presents. When we got a little older, my mom made us wait until 7am to open presents. (Oh, the horror!) We would open presents, clean everything up, and then attempt to eat breakfast.
But let’s face it: when surrounded by tons of new toys, who wants to sit down and eat breakfast?
Around two or so, the family would head over to my grandparent’s house to have Christmas dinner. There, we would open more presents which always got extremely hectic and crazy. After a few hours with family, we would come home.
Christmas evening is usually extremely low-key. It’s always filled with bitter disappointment and sadness as the holiday season is over. Soon, Christmas music will be off the radio, we’ll have to take the Christmas tree to the trash, and take down all our ornaments and Christmas decorations. I hate Christmas evening. My mom and I usually play a board game while eating more junk. I love board games and my mom and I play them on a weekly basis. So I receive a couple on Christmas and what’s more fun than playing a brand-new board game? Not much, my friends, not much.
Presents
My parents mom has never disappointed me during Christmas. (As much as I tease her about never having a Barbie Jeep, it’s true!) It’s the one time of year she really goes all out and buys us a lot. She wasn’t the type of mom to buy us things because we wanted them. We either earned them (for good grades or good behavior) or bought them ourselves. Never did we spend $50 at the mall on the Saturday to buy stuff “just because.” Birthdays were always low-key, too. We received a few presents, but nothing anything big.
But Christmas? Mom outdid herself every single year. (I’m sorry if I brag about my mom too much on this blog but she deserves all the bragging! It’s all true!) We always had tons and tons of presents lying under the Christmas tree and stocked our stockings FULL.
It wasn’t until I was in 8th grade and my brother was in 9th grade that my mom finally started receiving presents of her own. (My dad never gave her gifts. Not even for her birthday or their anniversary.) My brother was working then and it felt so nice to bless her with gifts.
Do you celebrate any of the same holiday traditions with your family? Do you still feel the same excitement and anticipation of Christmas as when you were a kid (like I still do!)?
I Am Thankful.
In honor of my very favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, here is my list of 100 things I am thankful for, no matter how silly or mundane they may seem!
1. I am thankful for the unconditional love and support of my mom.
2. I am thankful for my family.
3. I am thankful for my fabulous queen-sized bed that keeps me warm and snuggly all night long.
4. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend a university with minimal debt.
5. I am thankful for my job and the income and laughs it provides.
6. I am thankful for my writing ability.
7. I am thankful for sunny days and cool nights.
8. I am thankful for money in my bank account.
9. I am thankful for credit cards, without which I wouldn’t have survived the past years.
10. I am thankful for good fiction novels.
11. I am thankful for my sweet, loveable, cuddly dog who brightens my day whenever I see him.
12. I am thankful for Weight Watchers, for giving my mom back her life and giving me back my life.
13. I am thankful for my health.
14. I am thankful for chocolate.
15. I am thankful for Coca-Cola.
16. I am thankful for the awesome grocery store chain, Publix, which sells the best subs in the entire world.
17. I am thankful for football.
18. I am thankful for my sweet nephew who is quite possibly the cutest kid ever.
19. I am thankful for pillows.
20. I am thankful for Target.
21. I am thankful for sleep.
22. I am thankful for my co-teacher, Stephani, who makes work a lot less miserable.
23. I am thankful for opportunities to stretch my writing ability.
24. I am thankful that I’ve never gone hungry.
25. I am thankful that we downsized and now are living life with a lot less stress.
26. I am thankful for my brother.
27. I am thankful for exercise. As much as I hate it, it does make me feel good about myself.
28. I am thankful for a reliable car. (Even if it is my mom’s!)
29. I am thankful for my digital camera. It may not be a Nikon, but it takes pictures!
30. I am thankful for Twitter.
31. I am thankful for Facebook.
32. I am thankful for this blog.
33. I am thankful for blog friends.
34. I am thankful for Christian music.
35. I am thankful for the worship at my church.
36. I am thankful for an instant connection to the Internet.
37. I am thankful for clear, cable channels.
38. I am thankful for inside jokes with friends.
39. I am thankful for all my two-year-olds who are so funny and sweet and smart.
40. I am thankful for the ability to walk, talk, and hear.
41. I am thankful for make-up.
42. I am thankful for the ability to wear flip-flops every day of the year.
43. I am thankful for the gym at my apartment.
44. I am thankful for comfy blankets.
45. I am thankful for the Miami Dolphins, no matter how mad I get at them.
46. I am thankful for Post-Its.
47. I am thankful for mocha frappuccino’s.
48. I am thankful for clean laundry.
49. I am thankful for air-conditioning and heating.
50. I am thankful for my apartment.
51. I am thankful for cheat nights.
52. I am thankful for sweatpants.
53. I am thankful for my laptop.
54. I am thankful for Panera Bread croutons. (Seriously, they are the BEST!)
55. I am thankful for my grandma, who can do no wrong in my eyes.
56. I am thankful for the president.
57. I am thankful that I was able to vote for the president.
58. I am thankful for all God does for me every day.
59. I am thankful for sweet surprises that brighten my life.
60. I am thankful for Shape magazine.
61. I am thankful for my iPod, no matter how crappy or outdated it is.
62. I am thankful for the ability to visit places like Sea World and Busch Gardens.
63. I am thankful for the awesome, best friend relationship I have with my mother.
64. I am thankful for Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse.
65. I am thankful for days off.
66. I am thankful for the holiday season.
67. I am thankful for Christmas music.
68. I am thankful for the opportunity to share Christ to others, without fear of becoming imprisoned or killed.
69. I am thankful for the memories old pictures evoke.
70. I am thankful that I don’t need alcohol or drugs to numb any pain I have.
71. I am thankful for Spirit FM, my local radio station.
72. I am thankful for movie popcorn.
73. I am thankful for raw cookie dough.
74. I am thankful for rainy days.
75. I am thankful for laughter.
76. I am thankful that nothing has ever kept me down for long.
77. I am thankful I have never experienced depression firsthand.
78. I am thankful that I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.
79. I am thankful for my past.
80. I am thankful for online shopping.
81. I am thankful for my high school, where I got the most amazing educational opportunity.
82. I am thankful for Twenty-Something Bloggers.
83. I am thankful for my sense of humor.
84. I am thankful for the ability to sell back my textbooks.
85. I am thankful for warm hoodies.
86. I am thankful for long, deep conversations.
87. I am thankful for my hair salon, which makes my hair oh-so-beautiful.
88. I am thankful for all the lessons I’ve learned from difficult circumstances.
89. I am thankful that our laundry room is a hop, skip, and a jump from our apartment.
90. I am thankful for reality television.
91. I am thankful for girl talk.
92. I am thankful that getting drunk every weekend does not appeal to me on any level.
93. I am thankful for nail polish and hair dye.
94. I am thankful for my hair straightener.
95. I am thankful for conditioner.
96. I am thankful my future is secure.
97. I am thankful that Jesus died on the cross for me and my sins.
98. I am thankful I have worship music at my disposal.
99. I am thankful that I can have a personal, intimate relationship with the one, true God.
100. I am thankful for Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.