One of the fun aspects of the holiday season, for me, is to renew all of our family traditions. I think I’ve told you about many of them in this space.
It’s also fun to hear about what other families do. It’s fun to compare notes and to understand how different families do things. There are always consistent threads but also unique practices.
Yesterday, I was sitting with a multi-generational group of fellas at lunch. The topic of Christmas traditions came up. Soon, each of us took a turn talking about our families and how we do things this time of year.
Before you know it, it was like we were wearing our Christmas jammies and sitting around on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa. One guy talked about the time he got a GI Joe set. Another story focused on a guitar. You should have seen all the eyes light up as, one by one, everyone told a great story.
I talked about how Santa knew I was an Oakland Raiders fan and how I received NFL games, toys and related memorabilia. Then, I added that, Santa always knew just the right thing to bring with regard to Christmas morning and the NFL. One of my favorites was the Hall of Fame football game.
I added that, rooting for the Raiders in those days, was a function of how we didn’t really have our OWN team so you just picked one. There were guys in the neighborhood who pulled for the Vikings, the Steelers or Washington. I was the one Raiders fan on the street and Santa always got it right with a sweatshirt, t-shirt or even the year he brought a Raiders bathrobe!
The conversation shifted to when families open gifts: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? I think the group was split about 50/50.
It works out very well that Lisa’s family is a Christmas Eve family and my folks have always tended toward Christmas Day. So, no one got the shaft after our marriage!
Lisa told me that another family tradition of their’s was for the girls to listen to the LP titled A Visit to Santa’s Workshop. She told me it was a highlight for her and her sisters each year.
Different families I’ve known over the years have had different traditions. For example, one year when I was dating another girl, I was invited to her family’s big Christmas night dinner. They always did the big meal in the evening of the 25th.
Of course, travel adds another element. If families have to go to other cities to celebrate the holidays, then, there is an added wrinkle. That was the case for a couple kids who lived up and down the street.
Our family has other annual activities. My mother usually makes various types of Christmas candies; my sister frequently (if not always) gets one of the Lifesavers story books as a gift. In Lisa’s family, there has been the tradition, for a number of years, of drawing names. Each person buys a gift for one other.
The drawing is done at Thanksgiving and the gifts exchanged a moth later on Christmas Eve.
All of this talk about family traditions has me wondering…are there family traditions of your own that readers of Coach Jeff’s Blog would like to share??
JG
Originally posted 12/12/2014
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