Subset Holiday Traditions
It’s that time of year again. From Thanksgiving to New Years, our office loves to jump into holiday cheer. Here are a few of our own holiday traditions that we’d love to share. Perhaps you might find something to fold into your own festive activities.
Hyleh - Despite all of us being adults, we have a running bit in my family that Santa is still coming to our house. To prepare for Santa, we spend Christmas Eve decorating cookies to leave with a glass of milk and some carrots for the reindeer. After the cookies are decorated, we end the night by gathering around the dining table to play a series of games.
This is a tradition that no one wants to outgrow and something I want to carry on for my own children, nieces, and nephews.
Madison - Hidden pickle ornament - There are several variations to this tradition and what it means, but here is how I experienced the hidden pickle. Growing up, my parents would hide the pickle ornament somewhere on the tree. On Christmas Eve, my sister and I had to search for the pickle ornament and whoever found it got to open 1 present early. It was a fun tradition that I have carried on with my own children.
Jake - Christmas Eve luminaries and fresh PJs. A childhood holiday tradition was opening a select group of presents on Christmas Eve. One of the most essential gifts was always a brand new pair of pajamas to sleep into to usher in Christmas morning. On the way back home after visiting family, we’d drive a stretch of county road lined with hundreds of luminaries, which are candles placed in paper bags
Claire - Christmas Cookie Baking - Every year I dedicate a few days to making elaborate Christmas cookie trays for my friends and family. These trays usually include: chocolate chip cookies, lemon coolers, ginger bread, Oreo cheesecake balls, buckeyes, kiss cookies, chocolate peppermint pinwheels, and cherry almond balls. It is so much work but putting on a classic Christmas movie like Elf, and spending the day baking is something I look forward to all year. And they are always welcomed by the family.
Joel - We usually eat the standard way to early traditional Christmas dinner at about 1pm. I also happen to share a birthday with the Big Man, and with little kids we don't spend much of the day celebrating it. One year, I was pretty hangry late in the day so I checked Uber Eats and the only thing open were the local Chinese restaurants. Thus a tradition was born. Now, we close out Christmas and celebrate my birthday from the hours of 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. with a large selection of the best MSG laden offerings from the Golden Phoenix and a DQ ice cream cake.