Simplefying the Holidays

[limewave]

Most of our traditions do involve the kids, but we have a few of our own:

Making turkey sandwiches for Santa. Watching "Die Hard' while sharing a bottle of wine and wrapping gifts. . . . and eating turkey sandwiches.

Adopting a family or participating in Angel Tree--then shopping and wrapping gifts together.

Listening to my grandmother's Christmas albums on her 1950's record player.

Watching A White Christmas.

We always sit down b/w Christmas and New Year's and plan the races and events we want to do in the coming year. That's always fun and motivating.

A nekkid nap on the afternoon of Christmas Day. Thus thoroughly annoying DH's sisters when we are supremely late for the big In-Law Christmas gathering. lol.

Run the New Year's Day run together.

[Crankin]

DH and I made all of our traditions together, because we either A) didn't live near my family or B) weren't talking to his family . Our friends have always been more prominent in all holiday celebrations. When I first moved back to MA, I did do Jewish holidays and Thanksgiving with my grandparents, aunt and cousins, but after my grandparents died, as the years went on, I couldn't justify the issues that being with the others brought up. This occurred mostly after my kids left home. When the kids were little and we lived in AZ, we either drove to San Diego to be with my parents (4 hours of hell) or they came to Phx. My dad has come here twice for Thanksgiving since my mom died, but he is 86, almost 87, and although he is very active, I am not sure if he'll be able to do this again. My brother lives in San Diego, and so does one of my kids, so I don't worry about him.
I love the athletic things we have developed as traditions together, like hiking or nordic skiing on Christmas, and a bike ride on Rosh Hashanah.
Really, the only holidays I like are Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day (we always made a huge deal of this in my family of origin), and Passover.

[malkin]

Some of the stuff we sort of just happened to do when my daughter was little became a tradition for her. Mainly I was just working around her dad's schedule and lack of consideration. So whenever she was home we'd open presents and eat fancy cheese plates and little tasty bits. Once we had game hens for a meal; I forgot about it, but then DD remembered and requested them and then that sort of became a tradition too.

I have a collection of Steinbach ornaments and that's about all we put on the tree now, so that's a tradition too, I guess. When the kid was little, I pretty much let her have her way with the tree, and that was pretty funny sometimes. Same thing with a gingerbread house.

I guess the main traditions are to stay flexible, try to spend time with people I enjoy and to try to enjoy people I spend time with.

I like cookies, so I usually do some.

The kid also went to a Jewish school for 5th and 6th grade. I really quite like the pyro aspect of Hanukkah, especially when we have dismal dark weather. You start with one little light and gradually it fills the world...well, especially with a menorah that is not quite wide enough for its candles--it seems like I might burn the house down in one great waxy fireball.

I guess I'm not traditional in any traditional sense.

[indysteel]

Thanks for sharing everyone! DH is particularly enthusiastic about the nekkid nap! Wonder why?!!!

[Crankin]

I also feel like I am going to burn the house down. Especially when there are 4+ candles and they all burn together. I always put foil underneath and at times I get paranoid and put the menorah in the sink . Perhaps this is why my mom had an electric menorah? Well, I could never do that.

[malkin]

At work I have a round plastic menorah that you spin and the background changes from blue to yellow, so the candle "flames" turn yellow. Perfect for my office window where even coffee pots are against policy. We routinely break the rules for birthdays, but I'm not ever there at sundown anyway.

[Melalvai]

W"Christmas had arrived and vomited all over the place over the weekend."

Ha ha, that is just what it looks like! I like a few lights and decorations, but people do go overboard. You'd like the Krampus, which is the "bad cop" to Santa's "good cop"!

[Crankin]

One of the holiday traditions around where I live, that I like, is that people only use white Christmas lights, and there are no gaudy displays of anything on lawns. This seems to be a tradition in the "historical/colonial" towns west of Boston. It's very pretty, especially when there is snow. But, outside of this area, you see the huge displays. You know, the ones where people go to "visit" the lights and block traffic for miles?
I really don't want to go to my clinic's holiday party. When I am done with my last client, I just want to go home.

[shootingstar]

I'm not sure what we will be doing here for Christmas. It is my 2nd Christmas in this city.

Probably have a nice Christmas Eve dinner at home, it's a tradition both of our families did. Menu is always different every year. Play some Christmas music which I always enjoy during Dec.

I don't have a TV. It would be nice to cycle for even half an hr. on Christmas Eve if we don't have much ice around. We'll see...

[jessmarimba]

One of the holiday traditions around where I live, that I like, is that people only use white Christmas lights, and there are no gaudy displays of anything on lawns. This seems to be a tradition in the "historical/colonial" towns west of Boston. It's very pretty, especially when there is snow. But, outside of this area, you see the huge displays. You know, the ones where people go to "visit" the lights and block traffic for miles?

I tried using just white lights - it's hard than you'd think, now. I use LEDs, chose "cool white" (because there are different colors of "white") and all the same brand - and they're STILL three different colors. My fence is almost purple, except for the last 20 feet which are more bluish (an extra small string to reach the end) and the lights on the roofline are much whiter. The house across the street also used white, and their lights are a different "cool" white than mine.

[Owlie]

I like the cool white ones outside, but I much prefer the warmth of the little incandescent ones inside...

We used to drive around and look at the lights in the wealthier neighborhood down the street, before the recession hit. They did (or hired people to do) some nice, tasteful light displays.

[owlice]

Resolving to wake up in one's own bed on Christmas morning simplifies the holidays in all kinds of ways, especially if one has offspring.

Traditions I like and try to keep:

• eating white pizza at an Italian restaurant on December 23, with Christmas crackers and paper crowns for all (to wear during dinner in public, yes indeed!).
  
• making and giving (especially giving) candy cane reindeer. These are great little presents that let me give something to someone else but are so little that no one who receives one feels the need to give me anything back. I love that. So I make dozens of them (with a glue gun and tweezers, I can make 6 dozen in one evening with a few holiday specials on TV) and hand them out to coworkers, the cleaning staff at work, the people in the cafeteria... lots of people.
  
• going to a caroling party that started... 35? 36? years ago; some of the group are now grandparents and bringing their grandchildren to it. Children take turns ringing the doorbells, we sing, often in harmony and sometimes with accompaniment (guitar and/or recorder and/or percussion), and then after singing, we eat, talk, laugh.

One of the best holiday gatherings ever -- one we all still talk about -- was the ornament-making party with my friends. This had to have been ... 20 years ago? People brought all kinds of different things to use to make ornaments; the bag of shells one of the guys brought was a huge hit. Oh, the things people came up with; we laughed ourselves silly that night!! A four-legged starfish and snail shell became a trapeze artist whose trapeze had broken (yes! This is a Christmas ornament!), and I hang a small singer made out of a snail shell on my tree every year and smile, remembering that party.

I think if I were to try to build traditions now, the ornament-making party would be one to aim for, perhaps in odd-numbered years with some other kind of gathering -- caroling, perhaps -- in the even-numbered years.

[ny biker]

You know, I know that things get stressful, but I think many of you don't realize how lucky you are. If I resolved to wake up in my own bed on Christmas morning, it would mean I was spending the holiday alone, far away from everyone in my family.

Being invited to lots of parties means lots of people like you. So you have to dress up and act happy, boo hoo.

Even dealing with crowds at the stores is a good thing -- it means the economy is improving. For the past two Saturdays I've gone to a shopping mall that used to be a madhouse in the month of December. They even hire people to direct traffic in the parking area. But both days I've been there, there was no traffic, it was easy to find parking, and the stores were not that crowded. Frankly, it worries me.

Just be thankful that you have reasons to be busy and people to be busy for.

Peace on earth, good will towards men, etc.

[lph]

Just be thankful that you have reasons to be busy and people to be busy for.

Well said! I tend to stress out easily at social obligations, and can lose sight of the positive side of that. Thank you

[NbyNW]

I
Although, I know if I offered to bake 10 varieties of cookies, y'all would volunteer to relieve me of them.

Beth, I would happily do a cookie exchange with you! However, this year my baking equipment is all in storage because we are renovating.

For me, simplifying the holidays would involve not traveling back east to see family. It's just getting too hard to travel these days.

A few years ago we got snowed in, which NEVER happens in Seattle, and our flights were cancelled. Most relaxing Christmas ever!