Festivus!

I feel like I just said this about Thanksgiving, but I cannot believe Christmas is this Monday! I don’t feel stressed out or behind on anything–my shopping is almost finished (everything else I need to get are just little things) and, luckily, I’m not the main cook for any holiday dinners my family may have. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year–I love the music, lights, cold weather, and being with friends and family. I also love traditions and I want to share one that my family started doing recently and it’s worked out so well for everyone.

I have two sisters and the middle one is married with 3 kids (I’m the oldest). Instead of my sister and brother-in-law trying to decide which of their families to go to for Christmas, they mainly stick with his family or on their own on the actual day and then have what we call “Festivus” with our family. We pick a Saturday or Sunday sometime in December and my sister, her husband, and the three boys come over and we have a big dinner and exchange presents. It’s one of my favorite new traditions because it is so low stress! My grandmother comes as well to see all of us as well as her great-grandchildren, so it’s a smaller get-together with just family.

My point is that this is the time of year to be de-stressing and trying to make your life easier! I know that’s easy for me to say because I’m not a mother and I don’t have a family, but I wanted to offer an example of how my family began a new tradition that worked for us and made everyone’s holiday a little more enjoyable. So kick off your shoes and pick up the eggnog this weekend and enjoy yourselves!

What’s an unusual or new holiday tradition that you and your family (or you and your friends) have started that you look forward to every year?

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