Classic Christmas Traditions

I'm sure everyone has their own version of "Classic Christmas Traditions"... I know I do... and whether I want to or not... I just can't help myself... these precious traditions MUST be kept up each and every year. Here are a few of what my family and I consider to be our "Classic Christmas Traditions".

Wrapping gifts while watching old classic christmas movies... but adding new classics when new movies are deemed worthy.  The movies my girls and I HAVE to watch every year are.... "It's a Wonderful Life"  (DUH on that one!... in both black and white and color)... "A Christmas Story"... "White Christmas"... "Miracle on 34th Street" (both the old and new version)... "Home Alone" (usually 2 and 3 as well)...  and last but not least ..."Christmas Vacation".  The movies recently added to the MUST watch list over the past few years are... "Love Actually"... "The Holiday", and "The Family Man".  Have you not watched any or all of these movies... try putting one on and watching as you wrap.  Somehow wrapping gifts while the classics are on just gives the task a more Christmasy feel.  Since I have watched these movies so many times... now I basically wrap while I listen, but I can see each scene clearly in my head.... but... sometimes I must admit I do get distracted and get caught up in the movie while one gift sits in front of me for... umm... up to an hour or so!  :  )  But... that's just part of the tradition too.

Christmas cookie baking...  I make the same sugar cookie dough recipe each year... after the dough has rested in the refrigerator for a bit... I divide up the dough amongst the girls and we each cut out our own shapes and decorate "our batch" anyway we choose.  We don't icing our cookies, we just use colored sugar to decorate our tasty treats with.  And of course making sugar cookies is always a messy affair... but sooooo worth it!  Since my husband and I recently moved several states away, and have to travel to be with our girls for our Christmas gathering, I will be making my sugar cookies solo and taking them to our family gathering.  I will miss the comradery of us girls doing them together... but in the end... they will still taste the same and we will all remember the years of when we did  them together.  And of course we always made the standard famous chocolate chip cookies... Christmas just isn't Christmas without several batches of chocolate chip cookies!  I just use the basic/standard tollhouse recipe on the package of chocolate chip morsels... it's just one of those 'classic' recipes that can be tweaked if you want... but it is so good as is, and can stand alone on it's own without a single tweak.  Over the years the girls and I did experiment with, and bake various other cookie recipes... but these two are the 'traditional' ones!

Chex mix... again... Christmas isn't Christmas without several batches of homemade chex mix.  A very simple munchy crunchy treat to make... yet again... it can be a bit messy.  I start off by using the standard/classic recipe I found on a chex cereal box years ago.... but I have tweaked it into my own version.  I use crispex cereal that is a mix of corn and rice cereal, wheat chex, cheerio's, pretzel sticks (broken into bits), gold fish and pecans... then I add a tad more butter and worchestire sauce and top it off with a good dash or two of tabasco sauce.  The tabasco sauce adds just a hint of a back note to the palate, the cereals I use make it easier to nibble and get a good mix of the different flavors, I use gold fish instead of cheez-it's because they are easier to eat mixed in with the other ingredients, and I use pecans instead of peanuts because I like the buttery soft texture of pecans over the stronger peanut flavor.  My husband HATES, HATES, HATES chex mix because of how crunchy it sounds when people eat it and the smell of their breath afterwards... but us girls never cared... we make it, we eat it, and enjoy it all the same.  It's one of those times when he was outnumbered and had no control over the issue... and we took full advantage of that power!  Sorry honey.... it's not personal... we just LOVE chex mix!  My favorite part is when you get to the bottom of the bowl, and all the salty seasoned crumbs await to be scooped up and eaten!  YUM!!!

Christmas Eve Candle Light Service/Christmas Light Tour... this has been a tradition in our family that started before the girls were born... but it has recently had to be put aside due to the fact that the girls have grown up and have responsible jobs that require them to work Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day and/or have families to visit from their significant others side.  For the past couple of years our family has had to have our gathering on Christmas Eve because of someone or several having to be up and out early on Christmas morning to work or to be at the in-laws.  I must admit I have missed this tradition dearly... but I understand that for us all to be together, and juggle all the schedules, some things must be sacrificed... and that in time it will come back again.  I have found the most amazing church in our new community and am quite bummed I will miss their candle light service... but Joe and I will be the ones who will be traveling this year and won't be able to attend... so I just enjoy the advent season all the sundays before candle light service.  For me, the candle light service truly is what gives me the Christmas spirit the most... although during these years of change and compromise, I have many, many, many years of candle light services from my past to keep the Christmas spirit alive in my heart.  And I still look forward to when this tradition can be resumed again.

Christmas day jammies!... Each year I buy all of us girls a set of matching jammies (the ONLY time EVER that we are allowed to dress alike!)... we wear them to bed Christmas eve and then spend the entire day on Christmas lounging in them.  First rule is.... they have to be COMFY!... second rule is... they have to be somewhat stylish so that they can be worn and enjoyed for years to come during the winter months.  I don't know about the girls... but I have quite a collection in my drawer and I DO wear them all winter long.  Any one is invited to join us on Christmas Day... but we stay home all day long... hunkered in as we watch movies, play games, enjoy wine, and nibble on food the whole day and night.  Since Joe and I recently moved, this will be the first time our family will all be together since September... I'm really looking forward to our Christmas Day lounge fest!

As Joe and I become Grandparents this coming year... I'm sure we will add many more new traditions to the long standing ones we have now... and we will be passing on all the old traditions to the new members of the family for years to come.  There is nothing like traditions, and the memories of them to keep you warm at heart through this holiday season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!