Holiday Traditions.

Tomorrow night I am doing a talk at Go Green Baby on the Importance of Developing Rituals.
These talks are super fun, interactive, and kid-free.
We drink wine.
We chat.
It's such a great group of engaged women.....I'm not sure what I bring to the table, you know?

Family rituals are incredibly important to me. Always have been.

Until recently, I considered it "sappy nostalgia".
A longing for the past.
Holding on to things that used to be.
Maybe not wanting to grow up....

But, as I grow my own family, I have come to understand the importance of ritual.
Not only over the holidays, but everyday.
Now a parent, my role has changed, but my family rituals (old and new!) remain overwhelmingly important.

From a research standpoint:
The rhythm and routine (or rituals) of a family create a sense of belonging.
For children, rituals provide security and predictability.

From the mundane (bedtime rituals, morning rituals, dinner table rituals) to the extraordinary (holidays, weddings, baptisms, birthdays & graduations), strong family rituals have been linked to happier, healthier parents & kids.

For me, it is the rhythm and rituals of my family that make our house a home.
Our collection of family traditions + memories is what makes us us....a unique and deeply bonded collective of individuals.

I particularly love the holidays because it gives me a reason to go all out.
To celebrate. To give. To create beautiful traditions my children will carry with them long after I am gone.

In honor of my talk tonight and the holiday traditions that abound, I thought I would share some super awesome Christmas memories.

From my home to yours....
You're Welcome.

Growing up we had this hysterical Santa tree topper. Which ever way you held it, it looked upside down.
Every year we would decorate the tree and then finish it off with the weirdo topper....and then
we would argue for a few minutes about whether or not it was upside down...which it was not.
Every year.
***

When I was about 7, I promised my little sister (who was 5) that I had pockets full of candy. All she had to do was tell me what I was getting for Christmas and the candy would be hers.
She immediately told me I was getting a Rainbow Bright Pony. Hooray!
I, of course, had no candy but proceeded to repeat the trick year after year, with younger and younger siblings.
Christmas Genius.
***

Every year we would drive, from Waterloo Ontario (and then later New Brunswick) to PEI for Christmas.
All 6 of us in a K-Car.
We slept on Popple Sleeping Bags and shared juice boxes.
We listened to John Denver and the Muppets.
When we got there (no matter what time of day or night) my grandparents would be waiting in the windows for us.
***

My grandma would have tiny round short breads with dollops of white icing and little Maraschino cherry bits, rich chocolate brownies topped with thick fudge and a tray of Christmas rocky road bars.
***

We would eat treats and play gin rummy and my grandma would swear if I beat her.
***

We would (and still do) eat Chicken Bones and clementines by the pound.
***

We spent most of Christmas Eve in the car, driving from one relatives house to another.
Usually in a snow storm.
We were fed goodies and sweeties and pumped full of sugary drinks.
We always sang The 12 Days of Christmas in the car, at least once.
I of course play the role of Miss Piggy (Five GOOOOOOOOOLDEN RIIIINGS!)

***

Later, hopped up on sugar and adrenaline, we would be put to bed in special, new (matching!) Christmas pajamas.
We would try our best to stay up.
Sneaking down the stairs to see if Santa had arrived.
Being shooed upstairs with the promise of coal.
It was so mean because downstairs there would be a party with all of the neighbours dropping in to my grandmother's to visit and have a drink....hooting and hollering.
On more than one occasion we ended up being scared to sleep when one of us heard footsteps on the roof or a jingle of bells outside our window.
***

Christmas morning we would wake each other up before going downstairs to see if Santa had come, excited but also scared to go alone.
Under the tree we would find 1 or 2 presents laid out for each of us.
Unwrapped.
Straight from Santa's workshop.
It all seemed to glisten.
***

In the toe of our stockings we could always count on finding a very large navel orange and a large delicious apple.
I'm not sure why we loved it so much but we did...
***

Christmas Day (or sometimes Boxing Day) after the presents are opened and things are winding down, we like to nip out to a movie. It's the best.
***

New Year's Eve my mom makes a big dinner that includes: French Onion Soup and Garlicky Mashed Potatoes and Sex in a Pan for dessert.
We eat and then head out to celebrate (or more likely these days, stay in to celebrate right beside my old parents!).

So there it is. A few of the best. Unique...or maybe not so unique?
Either way, they are ours:)
What are some of your favorite holiday rituals?