“Sometimes the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.” -Nicholas Sparks
There’s something about holiday traditions that have a way of evoking pure nostalgia. Traditions create memories, bridge generation gaps and create a sense of identity and belonging. To get everyone in the holiday spirit, we asked our PMD team for some of their favorite holiday traditions. Whether newly created or passed down from generations, these traditions shape our holiday memories of the past, present and future.
Laura
“We always attend church on Christmas Eve and watch A Christmas Story when we get home. We open gifts Christmas morning and usually spend time with family the rest of the day playing games.”
Bridget
“Every year, we go to the Christmas tree farm and cut down our own tree. It’s always fun to look back and see how it compares to the past years’ trees. The kids are much better helpers these days as opposed to 8 years ago.”
Bonnie
“My sister’s family and my family always spend Christmas Eve together. We make fondue and everyone wears matching pajamas. It’s mostly just about spending time together and creating the magical moments for the kids.”
Shawna
“My grandparents are buried at Ft. Sam Houston and every year we do Wreaths Across America where people can buy a wreath for a loved one or donate money for wreaths to be placed on military graves, and we go lay the wreaths as well.”
Scott
“When our kids were little, my wife and I would stay up all night wrapping their presents and watching Christmas movies and Austin Powers. We always hide a pickle ornament on our tree and whomever finds it on Christmas morning gets a special gift.”
Cynthia
“Our favorite Christmas movies to watch are Elf and Christmas Vacation, and the adults always get a giggle out of Alec Baldwin’s SNL episode. Every year, I bake homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.”
Bill
“We always open our gifts at midnight. Then, it’s off to bed (usually around 2 am!), and then we get up early for Santa gifts and coffee.”
Amy
“For the past 5+ years we’ve worn matching PJs on Christmas Eve and to open presents in on Christmas morning.”
Renee
“We play White Christmas while we decorate, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving. On Christmas Eve, we go to church, read Luke Chapter 2 and then open all of our gifts- oldest to youngest, one gift at a time.”
Cathy
“We cut down a fresh tree every year. I always take a picture of the kid(s) by the ruler so we can see the change from year to year. On Christmas Eve, we always eat at Taste of Texas and go to mass, then exchange gifts with our best friends and have Brandy Alexanders.”
Karla
“Stockings are our favorite part of Christmas! Every gift inside is wrapped, and it could be anything from socks or breath mints to jewelry or cash. We open one gift at a time, and it is always hysterical to see what everyone ends up with.”
Kent
One of our Christmas traditions is to pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We shop all year looking for special items to fill each box. The boxes have gone to Mexico, Ecuador, Ghana and Haiti. The biggest joy is reading the shoebox stories and seeing children’s faces in the magazine they send after Christmas.
Becky
“I always have a retro/mid-century inspired Christmas. I decorate a silver aluminum tree that my grandparents bought in 1960 and light it up with the original color wheel, which spins and projects red, blue, yellow, and green light on the tree. I also like to have a 50s-early 60s theme cocktail party each year. I only use food and cocktail recipes from that time (but no weird jello molds) and make use of the massive quantity of crystal dishware that my grandparents had (including plates with built-in punch cup sections and ashtrays).
We hope our traditions have inspired you to think about your own holiday traditions, or create a new one this season. Happy holidays!